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1 Hello! ^-^ This story stars ChibiUsa & Hotaru and is set in an
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2 alternate reality. I’ve been wanting to write something about this
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3 theme of a slave and her owner falling in love for quite a while now.
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4 I’d like to thank Boco the Chokobo for all of the wonderful ideas
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5 that went into making this fanfic. ^-^ This story deals with some
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6 adult issues, so please read responsibly. The characters belong to
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7 Naoko Takeuchi and I’m merely borrowing my favorite couple, though
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8 I’m sure they wish I wasn’t with all the stuff I put them through. ^-
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9 ^;; All of the situations and this alternate reality are my own, so
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10 please don’t take them without permission. I borrowed many other
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11 characters for cameos, so if you can spot them all, drop me an e-
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12 mail. ^-^ Or if you just like the story or have any comments about
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13 it, I would love to hear them. ^-^
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14
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15
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16 Finally Free
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17 by Amazoness Duo
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18 amazonessduo@hotmail.com
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19
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20
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21 The large stone building was crowded with people. Bodies crammed
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22 next to bodies as everyone struggled to get past, trying to peer into
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23 the brightly lit cages at those trapped within. The smell of people
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24 permeated the air, the sound of voices droning out other voices until
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25 it became a nearly deafening roar. The new shipment had come in and
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26 was on display for all to see. Girls and boys in cages all throughout
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27 the building were being poked and prodded by the vast throng of
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28 customers. All searching for something in particular.
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29 It was organized chaos at its finest. Like some amalgamation of a
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30 carnival freak show and a slave auction, people came and went in
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31 densely packed lines, going from cage to cage. They would inspect the
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32 creature before them for a bit, studying them for more than a few
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33 seconds if they were interested. Then they would move on or get the
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34 attention of one of the well dressed employees about buying one of
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35 the half naked ‘animals’ in the cages. People came and went, cages
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36 opening and closing as the employees went from one perspective
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37 customer to another.
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38 There was a wave of fear for all of those in the cages. Most were
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39 frightened out of their minds, hundreds of people looking them over
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40 like furniture. Curiosity gnawed at each of them as their fates
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41 seemed to hang in the balance. And there was nothing they could do
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42 but wait. The small, steel cages were much too tiny to move freely,
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43 much less turn around in their confines. And so they could do nothing
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44 but watch and pray to whomever may be listening that things would
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45 work out. That this nightmare would soon end.
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46 In contrast to the frightened thoughts of those in the tiny cages,
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47 those outside had a general sense of excitement. A certain electric
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48 thrill ran through the air as they continued their inspection. This
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49 was an altogether amazing event for most, the sheer amount of choices
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50 mind boggling. Children giggled playfully as they stared into the
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51 cages, poking in with stubby fingers and whatever else they may have
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52 with them while absentminded adults paid little to no attention, too
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53 busy with their own gawking at the prisoners.
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54 It was in this jumble of anarchy and confusion that a pink haired
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55 girl made her way along the rows upon rows of cages. Rather petite of
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56 stature, she didn’t stand out much in the crowd. Her long pink hair
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57 was done up in two cones, the rest falling to either side and
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58 reaching just above her shoulders. Her red party dress with gold trim
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59 felt a little out of place next to the hardly clothed people in the
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60 cages, but she didn’t seem to notice. She was just as ecstatic as any
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61 of the others there, if not more so. Oh, how she had longed for this
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62 for so long now. Having just turned sixteen, she was now given the
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63 chance to pick out her birthday present. But what to pick? They all
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64 looked so cute! It was difficult to decide what she wanted.
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65 Peering into a cage, the pink haired girl’s crimson eyes followed
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66 the movements of a small dark haired girl. Smiling sweetly, she moved
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67 closer, trying to get a better look. Long, dark wings unfurled from
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68 the dark haired girl’s back as she came closer. Her long, dark hair
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69 fluttered behind her as her aquamarine eyes peered out fearfully. The
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70 wings began beating faster as she tried to escape the small cage, but
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71 she again failed. With each failure came the sickening revelation
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72 that she would never be free again. ChibiUsa noted with some dismay
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73 that her wings had been clipped. Even if she was free, she wouldn’t
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74 be able to fly.
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75 “Poor girl,” ChibiUsa whispered, holding onto one of the cold steel
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76 bars. The girl inside continued to flutter her wings in agitation,
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77 but their beating slowly began to diminish. Drawing her knees up to
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78 her chest, she seemed to be giving in to the futility of it all.
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79 It took ChibiUsa a moment to realize that someone was yelling at
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80 her to get back. Glancing around, it took her a moment to spot the
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81 man. He was behind the cage and pulling it back out of the way.
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82 Watching it curiously, she spotted a slightly younger blue haired
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83 girl, her long pigtails trailing behind her as she smiled into the
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84 cage.
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85 “Oh, she’s so cute! I’m going to name her Misao. You’re coming home
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86 with me, aren’t you, Misao?” the blue haired girl asked happily. Of
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87 course, asking the pet was pointless. It wasn’t up to her at all. But
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88 the girl was obviously pleased with the bird girl that she had picked
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89 out.
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90 ChibiUsa smiled and continued on, glancing in cages as she did so.
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91 She was glad that the bird girl had gotten an owner. But that still
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92 didn’t help her decide who she should get for a pet. Her father was
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93 somewhere around here, but she had lost him a while ago. It hadn’t
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94 been hard, moving through the vast sea of people. She just wanted
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95 some time to pick out a pet for herself without someone looking over
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96 her shoulder. She wanted this pet to be all her own.
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97 Brushing back pink bangs, the teenager walked alone through the
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98 crowd, looking in cage after cage of pets for sale. She saw another
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99 bird girl, with tan skin and coppery hair, long dark wings fluttering
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100 uselessly. Next to her was an ice blue haired girl, but she couldn’t
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101 quite figure out what type of animal she was supposed to be. It took
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102 her a moment to realize that she was in a tank rather than a cage,
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103 water surrounding her as she tried to swim in the enclosure. The
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104 scales on her tail were all beautifully iridescent, reflecting the
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105 bright lights of the building in rainbow colors. In the next two
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106 cages were a leather clad cat and a white haired mouse, respectively.
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107 The mouse was cowering in a corner of her cage as the cat hissed
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108 loudly at her, raking long finger nail-like claws against the bars.
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109 Next to the mouse in yet another cage was a green haired frog girl
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110 who was dozing peacefully. And even further on was a simply gorgeous
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111 woman with beautiful rainbow colored butterfly wings. She seemed to
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112 be a little older than a good deal of the pets there.
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113 Many had caught her interest, but none had really been the one that
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114 ChibiUsa wanted. She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for
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115 herself, but she knew that she would find it if she only kept looking.
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116 Passing by a butterfly boy and a pony boy, ChibiUsa paused for only
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117 a moment before moving on. Someone already seemed interested in them,
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118 a boy a little older than her, and she was looking for something else
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119 anyway. She just couldn’t tell what exactly.
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120 Fingers rolling along the edge of a cage, the crimson eyed girl
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121 relished the cold feeling beneath her fingers. The room was almost
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122 unbearably hot, the air humid. She could hear the loud sounds of the
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123 air conditioning in the background, but it just didn’t work with all
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124 of these bodies back so closely together. Deciding to ignore it, her
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125 other hand wiped across her sweat drenched brow.
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126 A low growl startled her out of her thoughts, drawing the young
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127 consumer’s attention to the cage near her. With a quick motion, the
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128 tiger that was in there lunged towards her fingers. Shock pumped
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129 through her small body as her hand jerked back reflexively. A scaly
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130 fish boy began laughing at her as she passed him and another hawk
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131 boy. She resolved to be more careful, holding the hand that had been
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132 lunged at protectively.
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133 Just what was she looking for? What type of pet did she want? She
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134 couldn’t tell. A smile graced soft lips as she walked past what
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135 looked to be a family of cats. The parents looked to be a slender
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136 female cat with long dark hair and a male cat with only slightly
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137 shorter white hair. The kitten was adorable, with short, dark violet
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138 hair done up in odangos near her ears. This one seemed a lot tamer
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139 than the tiger. Large curious eyes looked up at her, as if they were
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140 studying ChibiUsa in the same way she was being studied herself.
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141 ChibiUsa giggled softly and scratched behind the kitten’s ear,
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142 hearing a distinct purr in reply. “You’re just a sweetie, aren’t you?
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143 I’m sure someone’s gonna get you soon.” She giggled again as the purr
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144 grew louder. Slowly pulling her hand away, she took another step
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145 forward, glancing back at the cage and smiling for a moment before
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146 heading forward.
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147 And suddenly, she spotted something moving near the back of what
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148 she had thought was an empty cage. Taking a few steps closer, she
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149 hunched over to try and get a better look inside the cage. In the
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150 back, there was a scared looking girl, her skin as pale as a sheet of
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151 paper. Her long black tail moved slowly, her knees drawn up to her
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152 chest. The dark ears that jutted out of her raven hair twitched
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153 occasionally. Large, violet eyes watched ChibiUsa cautiously. It
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154 looked like she was trying to fade away into the shadows at the back
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155 of the cage, the poor kitten looking helpless in the tiny steal cage.
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156 Crimson eyes brightened as the newly christened sixteen year old girl
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157 leaned forward to get a better look. The kitten didn’t make a sound,
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158 only the movement of the dark tail and violet eyes showing that she
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159 was awake. She looked so shy, holding herself like that. So lonely.
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160 So cute.
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161 ChibiUsa smiled happily as an employee came by to see if she needed
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162 help. “I want this one!!”
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163
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164 “So what are you going to name her?” ChibiUsa’s father asked
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165 curiously as they drove home a short time later. His pink haired
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166 daughter sat in back with her new pet, still holding the catgirl’s
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167 leash. The catgirl really didn’t seem to be doing much, just watching
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168 the events from her large, scared violet eyes.
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169 ChibiUsa tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, watching her
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170 feline companion closely. She was still so excited to finally have
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171 her birthday present. And what a birthday present at that! Her very
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172 own catgirl... And such a cute one, too. It was a thrilling
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173 experience.
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174 Pink hair flew around ChibiUsa’s head as she shook it, trying to
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175 clear her thoughts. She couldn’t just let the catgirl run around
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176 nameless. But she didn’t want to name her just anything. Those sad,
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177 violet eyes and her beautiful ivory skin made her gorgeous to look
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178 at. She needed a lovely name to go with it. But what would fit this
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179 skittish kitten? And with such a lonely, haunting feel about her, it
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180 was hard to find something suiting. “I think I’m going to name her
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181 Hotaru,” she said at last.
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182 Her father raised an eyebrow, looking back at his daughter through
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183 the rearview mirror. “You’re going to name your pet cat ‘firefly’?”
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184 ChibiUsa pouted, scooting closer to the catgirl. Hotaru tried to
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185 scoot away, but just managed to wedge herself against the door.
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186 “Yeah, because I think it fits her perfectly. She has a real gothic
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187 beauty to her. And she looks so sad. So I like the name.” She smiled
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188 sweetly at the catgirl, who looked down quickly.
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189 Laughing, her father turned a corner. “That’ll change once you get
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190 her home and well fed. Then she’ll be a much happier cat. She looks
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191 pretty skinny, so that’s most likely the problem.”
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192 Nodding thoughtfully, ChibiUsa reached forward, smiling gently at
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193 Hotaru. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I’m taking you home. You’ll be
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194 happy there.” Her fingers brushed through the catgirl’s soft hair.
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195 Hotaru closed her eyes and tried to pull further away, but there was
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196 nowhere to go. Her pointed cat ears twitched slightly. Seeing the
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197 catgirl like this was a little disturbing. She had seen how happy
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198 pets usually looked with their owners, but this catgirl looked
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199 entirely withdrawn, afraid of the situation. It did make sense that
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200 she would be scared. She was still young and probably hadn’t been
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201 anywhere else before. But that just strengthened ChibiUsa’s resolve
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202 to get closer to her new pet, to make it feel comfortable at home.
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203 She was her kitten now, so she'd make sure she was happier.
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204 Exuberance filled the genki pink haired girl as she watched her
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205 pet. Finally having one, she was extremely pleased with her choice in
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206 a birthday present. She was just so cute. And all hers. She had
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207 promised to take good care of her before her parents would let her
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208 have one. She was the perfect birthday present, a real live catgirl.
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209 And to think that she hadn’t had any idea of what to ask for for her
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210 birthday until a few weeks ago.
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211
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212 Sitting in the park weeks earlier, ChibiUsa had been pondering the
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213 same question over and over for the past few days. Her sixteenth
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214 birthday was nearly upon her and she still didn’t know what she
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215 wanted. It was a big stepping stone and her parents seemed pretty
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216 thrilled. A big party was planned with all of her friends and family.
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217 But she couldn’t think of a thing that she wanted. Little things that
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218 didn’t matter, but nothing that seemed to fit the occasion. So she
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219 had gone shopping with Ruruna and Naruru to clear her mind and wound
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220 up broke. Again. They had gone on to another antique shop, but she
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221 just wanted to rest her aching legs. They’d been shopping since they
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222 had met up hours earlier. So she took her break to set her mind back
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223 on the question at hand.
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224 An elegant looking girl around ChibiUsa’s age with milky white skin
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225 and long dark gray hair drew her attention. Not because of her
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226 astonishing beauty, which was certainly evident in the midday light,
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227 but because of what she was holding. A long, pink leash that was
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228 linked to the collar around another girl’s neck. The other girl had
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229 short brunette hair and was walking on all fours across the grass.
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230 The pale girl seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, following
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231 after the girl on the leash with a camcorder in her other hand. It
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232 was a very peculiar sight to behold.
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233 “Good girl, Sakura-chan! You’re such a sweet puppy. You just work
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234 all of that energy out, darling. My cute, genki Sakura-chan can’t be
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235 kept in a house all day,” the mistress said in a soft, melodious
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236 voice. It wasn’t until then that ChibiUsa noticed the large, floppy
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237 ears on the brunette’s head or the short furry tail just above her
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238 tail bone. So that was a pet! She watched in astonishment as the
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239 puppygirl continued to run around on the grass, the dark haired
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240 heiress holding onto the leash and following the puppy’s motions with
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241 her camcorder. “Fetch, Sakura-chan!” Pulling a small pink stick out
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242 of her purse, the woman tossed it in front of her pet. Sakura hurried
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243 to get it, biting down on it and bringing it back to her mistress.
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244 The dark haired girl knelt down, scratching behind the puppy’s ears
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245 and smiling delightedly. “Oh, you’re such a good girl.”
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246 The brunette’s eyes closed, her tail wagging happily.
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247 “Wow!” Getting to her still sore feet quickly, ChibiUsa approached
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248 the two girls. “That’s amazing! Is she your pet? She’s so cute!”
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249 Seeing the puppygirl up close, ChibiUsa marveled at the site. A mix
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250 between a normal girl and a puppy, she made an adorable pet.
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251 Stormy blue eyes shimmered as the woman nodded. A bright smile
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252 crossed her face as she continued petting Sakura. “Hai, she is. Her
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253 name is Sakura-chan. I’ve had her for years now. Her mother was a
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rlm@2
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254 show winner. Isn’t she sweet? She’s the sweetest puppy imaginable.”
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rlm@2
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255 Sakura was starting to blush from the praise, but her tail still
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rlm@2
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256 wagged happily as her mistress’s fingers continued playing through
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rlm@2
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257 her hair. “Hi,” She said, a little shyly.
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rlm@2
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258 ChibiUsa blinked in surprise, nearly falling back in the grass.
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rlm@2
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259 “She can talk, too? She must be really talented.”
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rlm@2
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260 “Oh, she can talk really well. And about the cutest things. And
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rlm@2
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261 yes, she’s very talented. I have tapes and tapes full of all the cute
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rlm@2
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262 things Sakura-chan can do,” the woman said, still smiling her
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rlm@2
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263 trademark smile.
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rlm@2
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264 The puppy girl was leaning against her by now and still blushing a
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rlm@2
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265 deep red. “Tomoyo-sama...” She looked like this happened often, but
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rlm@2
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266 that she still hadn’t really gotten used to it. Sighing, she started
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rlm@2
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267 licking at Tomoyo’s palm while her mistress continued talking with
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rlm@2
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268 the girl that looked like a bunny. She’d chase her, but Tomoyo
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rlm@2
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269 probably wouldn’t want her to. And besides, she really didn’t feel up
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rlm@2
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270 for a chase right now.
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rlm@2
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271 “She’s so kawaii!! I bet she makes a terrific pet,” ChibiUsa said,
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rlm@2
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272 still amazed by the girl on the leash. What a wonderful idea. She had
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rlm@2
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273 no idea pets were so exciting. Her shoulders slumped slightly as a
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rlm@2
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274 sudden realization hit her. The pale girl did look remarkably
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rlm@2
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275 wealthy. “She probably cost a fortune, though.” There went that idea.
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rlm@2
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276 She’d have to find something else to get for her birthday. And it
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rlm@2
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277 seemed like such a good idea, too!
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rlm@2
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278 Tomoyo shook her head, giggling softly at the ticklish feeling of
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rlm@2
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279 Sakura’s tongue. “No, not really. Sakura-chan was a gift from my
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rlm@2
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280 mother a few years ago, but I don’t believe they’re really that
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rlm@2
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281 expensive. It might take a while to save up, but with all of the
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rlm@2
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282 things you bought,” she motioned towards ChibiUsa’s bags back on the
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rlm@2
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283 bench, “you should be able to afford it after a while. I honestly
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rlm@2
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284 think you should. I’m so lucky to have my cute Sakura-chan.” Another
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rlm@2
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285 bright smile lit her face as she looked down at the puppy girl.
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rlm@2
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286 Sakura perked up, as if waiting for something, sniffing. A horn
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rlm@2
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287 honked in the distance, catching all of their attention. Tomoyo
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rlm@2
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288 looked back towards a waiting limousine. “Oh, I must be going. I hope
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rlm@2
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289 you can get a pet. They really are wonderful. I don’t know where I’d
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rlm@2
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290 be without Sakura-chan.” Standing up elegantly, she brushed down her
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rlm@2
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291 long skirt. “Come one, Sakura-chan. Let’s go home. I’ll give you a
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rlm@2
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292 nice bath.”
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rlm@2
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293 Sakura waved and followed her mistress, standing up on two feet
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rlm@2
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294 this time, pulling alongside of her. Both girls disappeared into the
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rlm@2
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295 limousine.
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rlm@2
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296 Watching them drive off, ChibiUsa’s hair was tossed around by the
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rlm@2
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297 wind. She barely seemed to notice, too deep in thought to care. That
|
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rlm@2
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298 was what she wanted. A pet. A pet all of her own. Running back to the
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rlm@2
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299 bench, she grabbed her things and headed home. That’s what she would
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rlm@2
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300 ask for. Oh, it was perfect!
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rlm@2
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301
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rlm@2
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302 ChibiUsa brushed back some pink hair from her eyes, squinting in
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rlm@2
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303 the afternoon sun, her reverie fading. Her brand new pet was still
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rlm@2
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304 sitting sulkily in the car, dark eyes glistening in the shadows.
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rlm@2
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305 “C’mon, Hotaru-chan. We’re home now.” She smiled sweetly at the
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rlm@2
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306 catgirl, motioning for her to follow. The catgirl looked at her for a
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rlm@2
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307 second, but dropped her gaze just as quickly. ChibiUsa’s father
|
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rlm@2
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308 yelled for her to come in, grabbing her attention away from the shy
|
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rlm@2
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309 new pet. “Just a minute, papa!” Her crimson eyes returned to the
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rlm@2
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310 catgirl. Kneeling next to the open door, she reached in slowly. “It’s
|
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rlm@2
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311 okay, kitty. We’re home now. Home. I’m going to take good care of
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rlm@2
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312 you. I promise. There’s nothing to be scared of.” Her hand gently
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rlm@2
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313 stroked the catgirl’s side. Her pale skin was exquisitely soft to the
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rlm@2
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314 touch. ChibiUsa’s fingers continued to trail up and down as she
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rlm@2
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315 smiled. “Please?” Another request from her father to head in caught
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rlm@2
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316 her ears, Hotaru’s ears perking up at the same time. She sighed and
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rlm@2
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317 got back to her feet, smoothing down her skirt. “Well, we better get
|
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rlm@2
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318 going, Hotaru-chan. Come on.” She whistled, but the only reaction she
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rlm@2
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319 got from the catgirl were her ears perking up again. The pink haired
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rlm@2
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320 owner tugged lightly on the leash. This finally seemed to get the
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rlm@2
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321 catgirl’s attention. Pulling lightly, the pink haired girl led her
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rlm@2
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322 birthday present inside.
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rlm@2
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323 Hotaru followed behind her owner slowly, taking no notice of her
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rlm@2
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324 surroundings. What was the difference between here and the pet shop?
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rlm@2
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325 At least she wasn’t in a cramped cage anymore. But now she was all
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rlm@2
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326 alone. Most of the others would have been thrilled to have been
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rlm@2
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327 bought like this. But being in this strange new place by herself was
|
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rlm@2
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328 scary. She should be grateful to have her own mistress now, but it
|
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rlm@2
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329 was all too new, too frightening. Everything was happening too fast.
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rlm@2
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330 At least her mistress was pretty. And she seemed nice. But who knew
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rlm@2
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331 what would happen? Not that it mattered. She was only a pet. Her life
|
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rlm@2
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332 was at the sole discretion of her mistress. It was why she lived.
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rlm@2
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333 Pushing the door to her room open, the proud new owner could hardly
|
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rlm@2
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334 hide her excitement. This had to be her best birthday ever. Her
|
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rlm@2
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335 lovely pet was just perfect. Better than she could have dreamed.
|
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rlm@2
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336 “Well, here it is. This is my room.” She gestured broadly with her
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rlm@2
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337 free hand to their surroundings. The bed was along one wall, red and
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rlm@2
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338 white bedsheets topped with neatly placed bunny dolls. The room was a
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rlm@2
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339 little cluttered with little possessions here and there, but it
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rlm@2
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340 didn’t look messy. Long, frilly white curtains hung over the bedroom
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rlm@2
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341 window that overlooked the backyard. Some clothes from this morning
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rlm@2
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342 lay discarded in a corner. Several letters were arranged neatly on
|
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rlm@2
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343 her bedside, all sporting ‘Happy Birthday’ somewhere on them. Next to
|
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rlm@2
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344 the bed lay a large maroon fuzzy basket with some small cat toys in
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rlm@2
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345 it. Next to it were a food and water dish.
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rlm@2
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346 Grinning in excitement, ChibiUsa walked towards the bed. Resistance
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rlm@2
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347 tugged at the hand holding the leash. Turning back, she saw the
|
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rlm@2
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348 catgirl frozen in the doorway. “It’s okay. This is your room now,
|
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rlm@2
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349 too, Hotaru-chan. See? This bed is for you. And the toys and
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rlm@2
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350 everything. Isn’t it cute? We went and picked it out this morning.
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rlm@2
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351 It’s all for you.” She tugged lightly at the leash, pulling Hotaru
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rlm@2
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352 out of her stupor. The shy girl looked down, but slowly walked up
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rlm@2
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353 behind her owner.
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rlm@2
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354 Hotaru’s catlike eyes took in the little things on the floor, even
|
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rlm@2
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355 in the dim light. It was all for her? She’d never had anything
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rlm@2
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356 before. Just another kitten at the pet store, she was lost in the
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rlm@2
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357 crowd. Usually afraid or lonely even amongst all the others. She was
|
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rlm@2
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358 a little overwhelmed to be given anything at all. Especially when she
|
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rlm@2
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359 herself was a birthday present. The thought seemed ludicrous. Like it
|
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rlm@2
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360 didn’t quite fit. She was a pet. Pets didn’t have anything. No, it
|
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rlm@2
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361 must have just been phrased wrong. That had to be it. Her eyes shut
|
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rlm@2
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362 quickly when ChibiUsa finally got to the light switch.
|
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rlm@2
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363 “Well, here it is. I hope you like it,” ChibiUsa said with a smile,
|
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rlm@2
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364 twirling around on one foot to gesture to the room a last time before
|
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rlm@2
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365 plopping down on her bed. Her crimson eyes stayed on the catgirl with
|
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rlm@2
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366 a childlike enthusiasm. It was almost surreal to see one up close.
|
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rlm@2
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367 Her very own at that. And she was so pretty, too! Just wait until
|
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rlm@2
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368 Ruruna and Naruru found out. They would be so surprised. Hotaru
|
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rlm@2
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369 averted her gaze, shifting around uncomfortably, her tail swishing
|
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rlm@2
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370 slowly from side to side. “You’re soooo cute.” A giggle escaped the
|
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rlm@2
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371 pink haired girl as she pulled on the leash playfully. “You can come
|
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rlm@2
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372 closer. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
|
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rlm@2
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373 Taking an awkward barefoot step forward, Hotaru inched closer to
|
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rlm@2
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374 her mistress. That warm smile managed to draw the dark haired catgirl
|
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rlm@2
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375 ever nearer. Feeling another gentle tug on the leash, she kneeled
|
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rlm@2
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376 down in front of her having nowhere else to go. Her hands and knees
|
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rlm@2
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377 on the floor, her tail continued moving nervously behind her as big
|
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rlm@2
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378 violet eyes looked up at her owner. The smile was still on that face
|
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rlm@2
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379 framed by pink, her hand moving down slowly. Hotaru flinched a bit
|
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rlm@2
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380 when ChibiUsa’s fingers touched the side of her face, trailing
|
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rlm@2
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381 upwards into her raven hair. What did she want? Not that it mattered.
|
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rlm@2
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382 She was her pet. Her mistress could do whatever she wanted with her.
|
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rlm@2
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383 Hotaru’s curiosity continued to grow as the fingers ran through her
|
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rlm@2
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384 hair. But suddenly it didn’t matter. Her eyes closed and she began to
|
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rlm@2
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385 purr. Quietly at first, but it began to grow louder. ChibiUsa’s
|
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rlm@2
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386 fingers were scratching right behind her ear. It felt very nice with
|
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rlm@2
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387 those gentle fingers in her hair. Her tail began to move more
|
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rlm@2
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388 happily, as if completely unaware of the previous nervousness of the
|
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rlm@2
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389 girl it was attached to.
|
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rlm@2
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390 A musical giggle escaped ChibiUsa lips as she watched her new pet.
|
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rlm@2
|
391 “I’m really glad I picked you, Hotaru-chan.” She continued to pet the
|
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rlm@2
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392 kitten for a few more minutes, enjoying the soft purring sound the
|
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rlm@2
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393 catgirl made.
|
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rlm@2
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394 “ChibiUsa-chan, dinner!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
395 “Coming!” Sighing, the pink haired girl petted the girl one last
|
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rlm@2
|
396 time before standing up. The purring slowly came to a stop. Big,
|
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rlm@2
|
397 violet eyes looked up at her in confusion. She smiled down
|
|
rlm@2
|
398 apologetically. “I have to go get dinner. You should probably eat,
|
|
rlm@2
|
399 too. I’ll be back in just a bit.” Scratching behind Hotaru’s ear
|
|
rlm@2
|
400 again, she quickly made her way to the door, glancing back in at the
|
|
rlm@2
|
401 solemn looking catgirl. ‘She looks so serious all the time,’ ChibiUsa
|
|
rlm@2
|
402 thought to herself. “Bye, kitty!”
|
|
rlm@2
|
403 Hotaru watched as her mistress left the room, nervousness gnawing
|
|
rlm@2
|
404 at her again. It hadn’t been too bad when she had been there with
|
|
rlm@2
|
405 her, but now she was alone in this scary place. And she didn’t know
|
|
rlm@2
|
406 what to do. This was all new to her. This was home from now on.
|
|
rlm@2
|
407 Curling up into a ball, she began to cry.
|
|
rlm@2
|
408
|
|
rlm@2
|
409 Later that night, the catgirl was balled up in her basket, wide
|
|
rlm@2
|
410 awake. She couldn’t get to sleep in her strange new surroundings.
|
|
rlm@2
|
411 Every small sound startled her right when she started to fade away to
|
|
rlm@2
|
412 the land of dreams. She had finally given up trying to sleep a short
|
|
rlm@2
|
413 time ago. Lying there, staring at the wall, she contemplated her
|
|
rlm@2
|
414 existence. Sold like the animal she was, she was now property of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
415 mistress, the girl in the bed behind her. It was a dream for many to
|
|
rlm@2
|
416 get sold at the auctions. To have their own master or mistress. To
|
|
rlm@2
|
417 have a home. But she was still so afraid. No one had taught her what
|
|
rlm@2
|
418 to do once she was bought. Part of her had thought that she never
|
|
rlm@2
|
419 would be. Who wanted a lonely looking cat, anyway? Apparently, this
|
|
rlm@2
|
420 pink haired girl. She sat up slowly, her head peaking up across the
|
|
rlm@2
|
421 bed. She could see ChibiUsa’s feet sticking out from under her
|
|
rlm@2
|
422 blankets, the warm cloth tangled around the pink haired girl oddly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
423 In the darkness, her catlike eyes could still make out the nightgown
|
|
rlm@2
|
424 she was wearing, though the color looked faded. Her pink hair was let
|
|
rlm@2
|
425 down out of the odangos she had seen it in earlier. She really was
|
|
rlm@2
|
426 very pretty. And she was looking at her. Hotaru’s eyes widened in
|
|
rlm@2
|
427 surprise and she quickly ducked back down, pulling her knees to her
|
|
rlm@2
|
428 chest as she tried to pretend she was asleep.
|
|
rlm@2
|
429 “Can’t sleep?” the sweet voice of her owner whispered. Hotaru
|
|
rlm@2
|
430 froze, unsure of how to respond. Creaking sounds came her way as
|
|
rlm@2
|
431 ChibiUsa crawled across the bed. The sound finally stopped and she
|
|
rlm@2
|
432 relaxed slightly. A hand brushing through her hair nearly made her
|
|
rlm@2
|
433 jump in shock. Turning around, she spotted her mistress’s head over
|
|
rlm@2
|
434 the edge of the bed, watching her with that warm smile again. “It’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
435 okay if you can’t sleep. I always have trouble in a new place, too.
|
|
rlm@2
|
436 You wanna sleep on the bed?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
437 Hotaru nodded slowly, shyly. ChibiUsa smiled again and sat up,
|
|
rlm@2
|
438 gesturing for the catgirl to follow. Standing up, the dark haired pet
|
|
rlm@2
|
439 hesitantly crawled onto the edge of the bed, curling into a ball
|
|
rlm@2
|
440 there. She felt ChibiUsa’s feet brush against her side as her
|
|
rlm@2
|
441 mistress pulled the blankets around herself. Hotaru was a little
|
|
rlm@2
|
442 surprised. Wasn’t she supposed to be in her basket? Well, this was
|
|
rlm@2
|
443 nicer. It felt soft and the blankets underneath her were warm. And it
|
|
rlm@2
|
444 did feel more comfortable to be closer to her owner. She was very
|
|
rlm@2
|
445 sweet and managed to make this whole thing much easier for Hotaru to
|
|
rlm@2
|
446 handle. Lying there in silence, she tried not to move much lest she
|
|
rlm@2
|
447 disturb the pink haired girl. But it was still cold in the room
|
|
rlm@2
|
448 despite being on top of the blankets and she couldn’t help shivering
|
|
rlm@2
|
449 slightly. She was only lightly clothed.
|
|
rlm@2
|
450 Giggling softly, ChibiUsa sat up again. “Still cold, huh? Here, get
|
|
rlm@2
|
451 in the blankets. It’s warmer.” She watched the quiet catgirl for a
|
|
rlm@2
|
452 long moment, holding up the blanket invitingly. “Come on. It’s okay.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
453 Smiling reassuringly, she scooted over and patted the bed next to
|
|
rlm@2
|
454 her. “Come here.” The violet eyed pet looked back at her hesitantly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
455 still sitting with her legs tucked under her at the foot of the bed.
|
|
rlm@2
|
456 She sure was a reluctant pet. She didn’t seem very open around
|
|
rlm@2
|
457 people. But she was ChibiUsa’s now so it didn’t matter. The pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
458 haired owner was just glad to have her. Sighing, she took her pet’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
459 arm. The pale skin was very soft and cold. “Oh, you poor thing. You
|
|
rlm@2
|
460 must be freezing. C’mere, Hotaru-chan.” Pulling lightly, the catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
461 slowly crawled up beside her. ChibiUsa smiled again and pulled the
|
|
rlm@2
|
462 blankets up. “Here you go.” Hotaru sat there, staring at her. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
463 young owner sweatdropped. Taking Hotaru’s arm again, she pulled her
|
|
rlm@2
|
464 closer and toward the head of the bed. “Okay, now lie down.” The
|
|
rlm@2
|
465 catgirl lay her body down on ChibiUsa’s pillow, her head to the side.
|
|
rlm@2
|
466 “No, not like that.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
467 Hotaru winced, closing her eyes. She didn’t know what she was doing
|
|
rlm@2
|
468 at all. Humans had never been around her very much so she just didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
469 understand what she was supposed to do to please her mistress. Now
|
|
rlm@2
|
470 she’d probably hate her for being disobedient. And she didn’t want
|
|
rlm@2
|
471 that at all. Her mistress seemed so nice. What was she to do now?
|
|
rlm@2
|
472 The fear etched on Hotaru’s face sent a chill through ChibiUsa. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
473 catgirl looked so sad. She shook her head quickly. “No, I didn’t mean
|
|
rlm@2
|
474 it like that. It’s all right. Don’t be sad.” Another smile crossed
|
|
rlm@2
|
475 her face as she tried to reassure her new pet. This was getting to be
|
|
rlm@2
|
476 a lot of work. But still... She liked it. It was nice having her
|
|
rlm@2
|
477 here. Her cute catgirl. It was nice to have the responsibility of
|
|
rlm@2
|
478 her. To take care of her new pet. Placing her hands on Hotaru’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
479 shoulders, she positioned her on her back, pushing down until her
|
|
rlm@2
|
480 head was finally on the pillow. Dark hair formed a halo around the
|
|
rlm@2
|
481 catgirl’s head on the pillow, her kitten ears barely jutting out of
|
|
rlm@2
|
482 the hair. Hotaru looked at her in confusion but followed her
|
|
rlm@2
|
483 directions. Satisfied with her work, ChibiUsa pulled the blanket up
|
|
rlm@2
|
484 around the both of them. “There. See? Much warmer, Hotaru-chan.” She
|
|
rlm@2
|
485 smiled brightly as she hugged herself under the blanket, trying to
|
|
rlm@2
|
486 get warm again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
487 Shyly, Hotaru smiled back. “Thank you,” her soft voice whispered.
|
|
rlm@2
|
488 Giggling, ChibiUsa propped herself up on an elbow. “So you can
|
|
rlm@2
|
489 talk. I was wondering when you were gonna say something.” It had
|
|
rlm@2
|
490 almost been a surprise to hear Hotaru speak. She had started to think
|
|
rlm@2
|
491 that she wouldn’t. Hotaru’s voice was very soft, but lovely. It fit
|
|
rlm@2
|
492 the shy catgirl perfectly. “You have a very pretty voice, Hotaru-chan.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
493 The dark haired pet blushed a cherry red, shifting slightly under
|
|
rlm@2
|
494 the blankets. It was already strange to be sleeping this way, like a
|
|
rlm@2
|
495 human girl, but now she was embarrassed as well. She hadn’t known
|
|
rlm@2
|
496 what to say earlier. And her owner’s comments were flattering. This
|
|
rlm@2
|
497 whole day had taken quite a toll on her. It just seemed to be one
|
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rlm@2
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498 surprise after another. “A.. arigato...” she whispered, quieter this
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rlm@2
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499 time.
|
|
rlm@2
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500 Petting her catgirl gently, ChibiUsa smiled again. “Sleep well,
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|
rlm@2
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501 Hotaru-chan. I’ll see you in the morning.” Something brushing against
|
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rlm@2
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502 her side caught ChibiUsa's attention. It was warm and furry, moving
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rlm@2
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503 in quick motions. Reaching down, she grabbed a hold of the furry
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rlm@2
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504 intruder. Hotaru’s eyes went wide as ChibiUsa gripped it. “Oh...
|
|
rlm@2
|
505 Sorry.” She sweatdropped as she let go of Hotaru’s tail. Yawning, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
506 let her crimson eyes fall shut. “Sweet dreams, kitty.”
|
|
rlm@2
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507 Hotaru watched closely as ChibiUsa’s breathing steadied and she
|
|
rlm@2
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508 drifted off to sleep. Her mistress looked so calm and peaceful. So
|
|
rlm@2
|
509 cute. She noticed that the pink haired girl was holding onto a white
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|
rlm@2
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510 stuffed bunny with a big red bow. Purring softly, she snuggled next
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|
rlm@2
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511 to her owner, yawning tiredly and showing her sharp teeth in the dim
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|
rlm@2
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512 light. It had been an exhausting day. Before long, she was passed out
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rlm@2
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513 beside her pink haired owner.
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|
rlm@2
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514
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|
rlm@2
|
515 J-pop meandered through ChibiUsa’s room as morning light filtered
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|
rlm@2
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516 through her window. Something about ‘my darling and my dentures’
|
|
rlm@2
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517 played on the radio. ChibiUsa was still too tired to care. The pink
|
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rlm@2
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518 haired girl rolled over in bed, moaning about the unjustness of it
|
|
rlm@2
|
519 all. School was always such a tiresome thing. Sure, she got to see a
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|
rlm@2
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520 few friends, but was it really worth all of that pain of stuffy
|
|
rlm@2
|
521 teachers trying to force things upon you? Especially when she had her
|
|
rlm@2
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522 own pet now. That’s right! ChibiUsa sat up in bed, suddenly awake.
|
|
rlm@2
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523 Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she scoured the room for any trace
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|
rlm@2
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524 of her catgirl. But where was she? It couldn’t have been a dream,
|
|
rlm@2
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525 could it? Her heart started to slow back down to it’s usual beat when
|
|
rlm@2
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526 she saw Hotaru heading back into her room from the doorway on all
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rlm@2
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527 floors. ChibiUsa’s slippers were in her mouth. “Awww... How sweet of
|
|
rlm@2
|
528 you, Hotaru-chan. You’re such a good kitty.” Grinning happily,
|
|
rlm@2
|
529 ChibiUsa slipped out of bed, kneeling next to the catgirl and petting
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|
rlm@2
|
530 her warmly. “My good little girl. Yes, you are.” Taking the slippers
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|
rlm@2
|
531 from Hotaru’s mouth, she quickly slipped them on. “I wanna stay home
|
|
rlm@2
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532 and play with you, Hotaru-chan. School doesn’t sound like any fun.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
533 Pouting sadly, she just watched her new pet for several moments.
|
|
rlm@2
|
534 Finally reaching forward, Hotaru tensed up under ChibiUsa’s warm hug.
|
|
rlm@2
|
535 “I’ll see you soon, Hotaru-chan. We can play when I get home.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
536 Hotaru watched her mistress with inquisitive violet eyes as
|
|
rlm@2
|
537 ChibiUsa walked all over the room sticking things in her bookbag.
|
|
rlm@2
|
538 “Where are you going?” she asked curiously, trying to keep the
|
|
rlm@2
|
539 nervousness out of her voice. She didn’t want to be left alone again.
|
|
rlm@2
|
540 And why couldn’t she come with? She’d be good. She was well behaved.
|
|
rlm@2
|
541 Not like some of the pets she could remember back at the pet store.
|
|
rlm@2
|
542 “Skool?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
543 Nodding quickly, ChibiUsa began getting dressed, tossing the
|
|
rlm@2
|
544 nightgown to the floor as she dug through her closet for her school
|
|
rlm@2
|
545 uniform. She stood in front of the closet clad in nothing but her
|
|
rlm@2
|
546 slippers and her white cotton panties, but didn’t seem to notice as
|
|
rlm@2
|
547 if she were alone. It was just her pet, after all. She nodded
|
|
rlm@2
|
548 absentmindedly as she pulled her blouse over her head, then paused
|
|
rlm@2
|
549 and pulled it off, looking for a bra. “Yeah, school. It’s this real
|
|
rlm@2
|
550 boring place where they try to force us to learn things.” She stopped
|
|
rlm@2
|
551 again, turning an anklet over in her fingers thoughtfully before
|
|
rlm@2
|
552 discarding it. “I’m doing pretty well this semester, though, so I
|
|
rlm@2
|
553 can’t blow it off and stay home with you. Even if I really want to.
|
|
rlm@2
|
554 If I do well enough, I’m thinking of going into government.” She took
|
|
rlm@2
|
555 out a black lavender ribbon and tied it in her hair on one of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
556 odangos after fixing it to her usual hair style. “Then when I get
|
|
rlm@2
|
557 older I could get a nice big house for us and you could have gourmet
|
|
rlm@2
|
558 cat food and all sorts of good stuff.” Checking the mirror, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
559 smiled and went back to the closet.
|
|
rlm@2
|
560 Violet eyes followed her mistress back and forth across the room as
|
|
rlm@2
|
561 Hotaru sat on the floor. Her owner really was very pretty. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
562 beautiful curves that fit her small frame wonderfully. A small sigh
|
|
rlm@2
|
563 escaped Hotaru’s soft lips. Too bad she wasn’t a catgirl. But she did
|
|
rlm@2
|
564 make a nice mistress nonetheless. “Will you be back soon?” Hotaru
|
|
rlm@2
|
565 asked hopefully.
|
|
rlm@2
|
566 “You’re so sweet, Hotaru-chan,” ChibiUsa commented as she pulled
|
|
rlm@2
|
567 her skirt on. “Hai. Well, kinda. Sometimes it seems like a long time.
|
|
rlm@2
|
568 But I’ll be back this afternoon. I promise.” She smiled as she bent
|
|
rlm@2
|
569 down and scratched behind Hotaru’s left ear. A giddy feeling went
|
|
rlm@2
|
570 through her as she watched the dark haired pet’s eyes close and heard
|
|
rlm@2
|
571 her purring again. This whole pet thing was turning out to be great.
|
|
rlm@2
|
572 Hotaru really did seem like the perfect choice. It was even better
|
|
rlm@2
|
573 than what she’d thought when she’d met that rich girl and her puppy.
|
|
rlm@2
|
574 Hotaru didn’t answer, just tilting her head to the side, her tail
|
|
rlm@2
|
575 moving back and forth as she watched her pink haired owner head for
|
|
rlm@2
|
576 the door. “Goodbye, mistress,” she said at last.
|
|
rlm@2
|
577 Pausing for a moment, ChibiUsa stood in the doorway, fumbling with
|
|
rlm@2
|
578 her bow. That had sounded awkward. But thinking it over, it did make
|
|
rlm@2
|
579 sense. Hotaru was her pet at any rate. Smiling over her shoulder, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
580 waved cheerfully. “Bye, Hotaru-chan! See you this afternoon! I bet
|
|
rlm@2
|
581 you’ll have more fun than me.” And with that, she disappeared off to
|
|
rlm@2
|
582 the mysterious ‘skool’.
|
|
rlm@2
|
583 Sighing, Hotaru clasped her hands in front of her and watched the
|
|
rlm@2
|
584 empty doorway where her mistress had just been. “I doubt it, mistress.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
585
|
|
rlm@2
|
586 Many hours later, an exhausted student made her way home,
|
|
rlm@2
|
587 shouldering her bunny shaped bookbag on a weary shoulder. Opening the
|
|
rlm@2
|
588 door with the key she kept with her, ChibiUsa pushed the door open
|
|
rlm@2
|
589 with a sigh of relief. It was good to be back home again. A smile
|
|
rlm@2
|
590 crossed her lips as she remembered the catgirl waiting for her. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
591 had found it difficult to concentrate at school all day with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
592 knowledge that Hotaru was at home. School just seemed extraordinarily
|
|
rlm@2
|
593 mundane compared to her brand new pet. “Hotaru-chan?” she said as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
594 took off her shoes near the door. There was no answer. But then, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
595 was a quiet catgirl, so that shouldn’t be too strange. Pulling her
|
|
rlm@2
|
596 slippers back on, ChibiUsa walked back towards her room. The door was
|
|
rlm@2
|
597 still wide open as she’d left it. And there was Hotaru lying on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
598 floor. Reading a book. “Hotaru-chan?” ChibiUsa asked incredulously.
|
|
rlm@2
|
599 She knew that the catgirl was obviously smart. But that she could read?
|
|
rlm@2
|
600 The book dropped from Hotaru’s hands as she scrambled to a sitting
|
|
rlm@2
|
601 position. Her violet eyes were wide with fear as she looked towards
|
|
rlm@2
|
602 her owner. ‘She saw me? She’s not supposed to know that. It’s my
|
|
rlm@2
|
603 little secret.’ She didn’t know what to say. Or what would happen to
|
|
rlm@2
|
604 her. Maybe she’d give her away. Hotaru knew that pets usually didn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
605 read. Why would they need to? Tears began to well up in her eyes. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
606 was just the day after she’d been bought and already she had ruined
|
|
rlm@2
|
607 everything. She was really beginning to like her mistress, too. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
608 wanted to explain, to try to fix things, but nothing would come out
|
|
rlm@2
|
609 of her mouth. She felt helpless, trapped. She wanted to run away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
610 “I... Hotaru-chan..” ChibiUsa shook her head and knelt next to her
|
|
rlm@2
|
611 kitten. She picked up the book that had dropped to the floor. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
612 one that she had gotten for her birthday. A hand reached out and
|
|
rlm@2
|
613 gently stroked Hotaru’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Hotaru-chan. I’m just
|
|
rlm@2
|
614 surprised. You can read? I didn’t think pets could read.” She smiled
|
|
rlm@2
|
615 sweetly to show that she wasn’t angry, managing to calm the catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
616 slightly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
617 Hotaru nodded weakly, sniffling. “Hai...” She wasn’t angry at her?
|
|
rlm@2
|
618 Why not? Not that it wasn’t a good thing. But she had always been
|
|
rlm@2
|
619 afraid about someone finding that out. “My mother taught me... before
|
|
rlm@2
|
620 she died..” Hotaru said sadly. Reading always reminded her of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
621 mother, bringing back bittersweet memories of the kind woman and her
|
|
rlm@2
|
622 death that had left Hotaru all alone. So she liked to read when she
|
|
rlm@2
|
623 had the chance. It always felt like her mother was watching.
|
|
rlm@2
|
624 “Oh...” ChibiUsa looked down at the book for a long moment. So that
|
|
rlm@2
|
625 was how. It hadn’t occurred to her that anything might have happened
|
|
rlm@2
|
626 to Hotaru’s family. She hadn’t thought about that sort of thing when
|
|
rlm@2
|
627 it came to pets. No wonder the poor catgirl looked so lonely. “I’m
|
|
rlm@2
|
628 really sorry, Hotaru-chan.” She smiled softly, handing the book back
|
|
rlm@2
|
629 to her pet. It took Hotaru a minute to slowly reach out and take it
|
|
rlm@2
|
630 cautiously. “If you really like to, you can go ahead and read any of
|
|
rlm@2
|
631 my books. I don’t read them all that much anyway with all I need to
|
|
rlm@2
|
632 read for school. And I’m more of a manga girl myself.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
633 Holding the book against her chest, Hotaru kept her eyes on her
|
|
rlm@2
|
634 slightly shorter owner. “Really...? You’d let me?” she asked
|
|
rlm@2
|
635 curiously. All of this time she had been afraid of getting in
|
|
rlm@2
|
636 trouble. She was so surprised that ChibiUsa would allow her to. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
637 mother had told her never to let a human see her read. Her owner
|
|
rlm@2
|
638 really was so kind. “Thank you, ChibiUsa-sama..” Smiling meekly, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
639 hugged the book tighter, still looking into the pink haired girl’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
640 pretty crimson eyes. She was so lucky to have a mistress like her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
641 ChibiUsa watched the eager look in Hotaru’s eyes as she held the
|
|
rlm@2
|
642 book. The catgirl was so cute. The pink haired girl was really
|
|
rlm@2
|
643 beginning to enjoy learning all of these new things about her pet.
|
|
rlm@2
|
644 She really did have a lot of personality. Hotaru was becoming more
|
|
rlm@2
|
645 and more captivating. And she was all hers, which made the whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
646 thing even better. She didn’t have to share Hotaru with anyone. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
647 was like her very own personal friend. Gazing back into those violet
|
|
rlm@2
|
648 eyes, she began scratching absentmindedly behind Hotaru’s left ear
|
|
rlm@2
|
649 again, eliciting a soft purr from the catgirl. “You can read all you
|
|
rlm@2
|
650 want, Hotaru-chan. I want you to be happy here.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
651 Hotaru blushed softly and nodded. “I am happy here with you,
|
|
rlm@2
|
652 ChibiUsa-sama.” She had been so lonely for so long. She was an
|
|
rlm@2
|
653 outcast back at the pet shop. And ever since she had lost her mother,
|
|
rlm@2
|
654 she had no one else to turn to. But this lovely girl had taken her in
|
|
rlm@2
|
655 and was being so sweet to her even though she was just a pet. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
656 almost too good to be true. Her mother must have helped her get this
|
|
rlm@2
|
657 mistress.
|
|
rlm@2
|
658 Giving Hotaru a hug that the catgirl slowly relaxed into, her tail
|
|
rlm@2
|
659 still moving behind her, ChibiUsa blushed a bit herself. Hotaru was
|
|
rlm@2
|
660 already figuring very prominently in her mind. The catgirl was just
|
|
rlm@2
|
661 so much more fun and fascinating that her friends at school who were
|
|
rlm@2
|
662 much more concerned with boys and certain fads. She couldn’t wait for
|
|
rlm@2
|
663 the times when she could be with her kitten. Everything else just
|
|
rlm@2
|
664 seemed to take a backseat to that in her mind. Smiling, she kept
|
|
rlm@2
|
665 petting Hotaru as she held onto her, enjoying the soft purr in her
|
|
rlm@2
|
666 ears. It was so much fun to be with her. And it felt very nice to
|
|
rlm@2
|
667 hold her. Actually, she could feel the barely clothed girl trough the
|
|
rlm@2
|
668 thin cloth as she held onto her, now that she thought about it. “I’m
|
|
rlm@2
|
669 gonna need to get you some clothes soon, Hotaru-chan,” she mentioned
|
|
rlm@2
|
670 thoughtfully, still holding her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
671 Hotaru blinked, her face inches from ChibiUsa as she watched her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
672 “Why?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
673 A giggle escaped ChibiUsa’s lips and she shook her head.
|
|
rlm@2
|
674 “Nevermind, Hotaru-chan. You just read your books and I’ll bother
|
|
rlm@2
|
675 with the rest. I have to take care of my pet, don’t I?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
676 Still watching, Hotaru finally nodded when ChibiUsa seemed to be
|
|
rlm@2
|
677 waiting for her. “I.. uhh.. Yes, mistress.” It seemed to be the right
|
|
rlm@2
|
678 answer so she relaxed, looking into those beautiful scarlet pools
|
|
rlm@2
|
679 again. ChibiUsa smelled very nice. Just like her slippers had
|
|
rlm@2
|
680 earlier. And the bed. Yes, she was beginning to like that smell very
|
|
rlm@2
|
681 much. It was soothing and made her feel warm and safe inside.
|
|
rlm@2
|
682 ChibiUsa sweatdropped a little at the close proximity, but aside
|
|
rlm@2
|
683 from it seeming a little odd, it really didn’t bother her. In fact,
|
|
rlm@2
|
684 she was enjoying the chance to be so close to her pet, especially
|
|
rlm@2
|
685 with how shy the catgirl was. Reaching down, she stroked Hotaru’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
686 tails, playing with the swiftly moving pendulum. “Of course. My cute
|
|
rlm@2
|
687 little pet, Hotaru-chan.” She should start her homework. She should
|
|
rlm@2
|
688 feed the catgirl. But she just wanted to sit there.
|
|
rlm@2
|
689
|
|
rlm@2
|
690 “ChibiUsa-chan, I love you,” the white haired boy whispered softly
|
|
rlm@2
|
691 as his fingers trailed through her cotton candy pink hair. A crimson
|
|
rlm@2
|
692 blush, the same color as her eyes, made it’s way across her cheeks.
|
|
rlm@2
|
693 She had thought he’d never say that. Her crush on him had gone
|
|
rlm@2
|
694 unreturned for so long. As he leaned forward, she realized with
|
|
rlm@2
|
695 sudden shock ‘He’s going to kiss me...’ Closing her eyes, she waited
|
|
rlm@2
|
696 anxiously for the magical moment. “Elios...” She pursed her lips as
|
|
rlm@2
|
697 she waited, her heart pounding in her chest like a freight train.
|
|
rlm@2
|
698 Would he? She could feel warm breath against her lips, sending an
|
|
rlm@2
|
699 electric spark throughout her body. Frantic thoughts hurried through
|
|
rlm@2
|
700 her mind as seconds stretched out into infinity. Her body tensed as
|
|
rlm@2
|
701 she waited for the kiss that would seal her fate. Warmth washed over
|
|
rlm@2
|
702 her cheek, slightly wet and a little scratchy against her soft skin.
|
|
rlm@2
|
703 Confusion quickly shook her anxiety away. What was he doing? Kissing
|
|
rlm@2
|
704 her cheek? It sure didn’t feel like a kiss. Well, not quite. Shifting
|
|
rlm@2
|
705 a bit to the side, she felt the warm feeling continue on her left
|
|
rlm@2
|
706 cheek, moving up and closer to her lips. An unexpected giggle escaped
|
|
rlm@2
|
707 her as the unidentifiable feeling continued its journey forward,
|
|
rlm@2
|
708 tickling her cheek. Just what did he want? Wasn’t he going to kiss
|
|
rlm@2
|
709 her? “Elios?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
710 Scarlet eyes fluttered open in curiosity, searching for the object
|
|
rlm@2
|
711 of her full attention. “Elios?” she asked again. Blinking in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
712 darkness, she tried to find the white haired boy. The warm feeling on
|
|
rlm@2
|
713 her cheek continued, closing ever closer to her lips. Her blush
|
|
rlm@2
|
714 deepened as she sleepily tried to spot her crush. Her eyes finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
715 found an ethereal figure leaning over her, a pale figure in the dim
|
|
rlm@2
|
716 moonlight offset by jet black hair that fell around the pale face
|
|
rlm@2
|
717 like a veil. Like some unearthly angel, the creature sat over her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
718 continuing the sweet caress of ChibiUsa’s cheek as if nothing had
|
|
rlm@2
|
719 changed. The pink haired girl shifted in bed, now utterly confused.
|
|
rlm@2
|
720 Where had Elios gone? What was happening? And what was that feeling?
|
|
rlm@2
|
721 It slowly dawned upon her that the warm feeling was her cheek being
|
|
rlm@2
|
722 licked. But why would Elios be licking her cheek? Her still sleep
|
|
rlm@2
|
723 addled mind clicked and whirred as it slowly put everything together.
|
|
rlm@2
|
724 Violet eyes sparkled in the dim light above her, watching her with
|
|
rlm@2
|
725 catlike intensity. “Hotaru-chan?” the young owner asked suddenly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
726 sitting up.
|
|
rlm@2
|
727 The catgirl moved quickly and with agile grace disappeared into the
|
|
rlm@2
|
728 darkness. Straining to see the catgirl in the darkness, ChibiUsa’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
729 fingers reached up to her cheek. The soft flesh still had some saliva
|
|
rlm@2
|
730 on it from where Hotaru’s somewhat scratchy tongue had passed over
|
|
rlm@2
|
731 it. So it had all just been a dream? Well, the part about her crush
|
|
rlm@2
|
732 at the least. But if that was the case, then why was her heart still
|
|
rlm@2
|
733 beating so quickly? Her fingers traveled from her cheek over to her
|
|
rlm@2
|
734 lips, lingering there for a second. The warmth that had spread
|
|
rlm@2
|
735 through her cheek now felt like it was melting through her body,
|
|
rlm@2
|
736 coating every inch of her. She didn’t know quite how to explain it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
737 The excitement from the dream dared not dissipate into the night air
|
|
rlm@2
|
738 just yet. It held onto her, as if the dream wasn’t ready to depart.
|
|
rlm@2
|
739 Her mind drifted back to her pet’s insistent licking and the
|
|
rlm@2
|
740 beautiful silhouette that her eyes had awakened to above her. A
|
|
rlm@2
|
741 cherry red blush colored her cheeks as she sat on her bed, still
|
|
rlm@2
|
742 drenched in sweat from yet another of many absorbing dreams. The pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
743 haired girl had never kissed anyone yet, which made it very difficult
|
|
rlm@2
|
744 to listen to Ruruna and Naruru’s constant boasts. Her dreams often
|
|
rlm@2
|
745 led her up to what she had built up into her mind to be the
|
|
rlm@2
|
746 penultimate romantic moment, but had never crossed the threshold,
|
|
rlm@2
|
747 always leaving her curious as to what would have happened had she
|
|
rlm@2
|
748 been asleep only a brief moment longer.
|
|
rlm@2
|
749 ChibiUsa finally caught sight of her pet in the darkness. Violet
|
|
rlm@2
|
750 eyes glinted in the shadows near the foot of her bed. As if she were
|
|
rlm@2
|
751 being drawn to those distant stars, the young owner began crawling
|
|
rlm@2
|
752 across the bed to the still mostly hidden catgirl. “Hotaru-chan?
|
|
rlm@2
|
753 Hotaru-chan, you don’t need to hide, kitty.” A soft giggle filled the
|
|
rlm@2
|
754 silent room. “You’re so shy. Come here.” Sitting in front of the
|
|
rlm@2
|
755 catgirl on the middle of the bed, ChibiUsa motioned for her to come
|
|
rlm@2
|
756 forward. “It’s okay. Come here, kitty.” Hotaru slowly complied,
|
|
rlm@2
|
757 crawling towards her pink haired owner. Her pale figure slowly came
|
|
rlm@2
|
758 into view, her tail moving slowly in the moonlight. ChibiUsa could
|
|
rlm@2
|
759 still feel her heart pounding in her chest, her mind furiously trying
|
|
rlm@2
|
760 to go in every direction at once. She remembered Hotaru’s tongue
|
|
rlm@2
|
761 along her cheek, so close to her own lips. The feeling was baffling.
|
|
rlm@2
|
762 It left her wondering about what would have happened had she waited.
|
|
rlm@2
|
763 She had to remind herself that Hotaru was a catgirl and that it was
|
|
rlm@2
|
764 probably just her licking her owner as she remembered the puppygirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
765 had done with the rich girl. But still she couldn’t banish the
|
|
rlm@2
|
766 thoughts from her mind. Hotaru moved a little closer at her
|
|
rlm@2
|
767 insistence, her hand still motioning her forward.
|
|
rlm@2
|
768 Hotaru complied with her mistress, moving ever closer on all fours.
|
|
rlm@2
|
769 Her eyes burned with catlike curiosity as she watched the pink haired
|
|
rlm@2
|
770 woman before her, her hands stopping right before ChibiUsa’s knees.
|
|
rlm@2
|
771 She hadn’t slept, preferring instead to keep a silent vigil over her
|
|
rlm@2
|
772 beautiful owner. She had merely been cleaning ChibiUsa’s cheek when
|
|
rlm@2
|
773 the human girl had woken up, but her sudden movements had frightened
|
|
rlm@2
|
774 the skittish kitten. Her owner looked cute when she was asleep. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
775 pink hair had framed her cute face beautifully in the dark room, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
776 hands resting on her pillow, her lips forming a sweet pout. She was
|
|
rlm@2
|
777 surprised to see her awaken so suddenly when it was her experience
|
|
rlm@2
|
778 that the pink haired girl slept all night long. She had been here for
|
|
rlm@2
|
779 weeks now and that pattern hadn’t changed in the least. Well, with
|
|
rlm@2
|
780 the exception of when ChibiUsa wound up staying up with her, but once
|
|
rlm@2
|
781 the crimson eyed owner was asleep, she generally stayed that way.
|
|
rlm@2
|
782 Hotaru moved closer still, smelling intently as she moved closer,
|
|
rlm@2
|
783 enjoying the comforting scent of her mistress.
|
|
rlm@2
|
784 Blushing, ChibiUsa watched as Hotaru’s angelic face came nearer, her
|
|
rlm@2
|
785 small nose twitching ever so slightly as she did. Violet eyes peaked
|
|
rlm@2
|
786 out from behind their shadowy veil at her. That face that had held an
|
|
rlm@2
|
787 almost constant fear or pain to it now held a gentle contentment.
|
|
rlm@2
|
788 Sometimes the fear and the pain returned, but ChibiUsa had been happy
|
|
rlm@2
|
789 to see it slowly ebb, the catgirl’s smile coming more easily as time
|
|
rlm@2
|
790 went by. The pink haired girl found herself spending more and more of
|
|
rlm@2
|
791 her time with her precious pet than with her best friends. They were
|
|
rlm@2
|
792 nice and all, but they didn’t captivate her the same way her gorgeous
|
|
rlm@2
|
793 kitten did. There was something about the girl’s shy nature and her
|
|
rlm@2
|
794 total devotion that had quickly snagged ChibiUsa’s attention. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
795 even blown off Ruruna and Naruru when they were going to the movies
|
|
rlm@2
|
796 because of the jealous look she had seen in the catgirl’s deep pools
|
|
rlm@2
|
797 of violet. Part of that scared her, that she would rather stay home
|
|
rlm@2
|
798 with her pet than go hang out with her friends. But she had found it
|
|
rlm@2
|
799 much more enjoyable than gawking at passing boys and staring at
|
|
rlm@2
|
800 outfits that she could never hope to afford. They had passed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
801 night pleasantly, playing cards of all things. ChibiUsa had won every
|
|
rlm@2
|
802 game. She had begun to suspect afterwards that Hotaru had let her
|
|
rlm@2
|
803 win, but she had such an enjoyable time spending the night sitting on
|
|
rlm@2
|
804 her bed and playing the games that it hardly seemed to matter.
|
|
rlm@2
|
805 It was really a curious situation she found herself in. She knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
806 that pets were really amazing to have simply from all of the stories
|
|
rlm@2
|
807 she had heard, but this was much more than she had expected. Unlike
|
|
rlm@2
|
808 the rest of her friends, ChibiUsa felt that she could really tell
|
|
rlm@2
|
809 Hotaru things, that she could talk to her about anything. The dark
|
|
rlm@2
|
810 haired catgirl didn’t judge her. She listened to whatever her
|
|
rlm@2
|
811 mistress had to say, her cute little cat ears moving along with the
|
|
rlm@2
|
812 words. She didn’t have to pretend around Hotaru. And that made her
|
|
rlm@2
|
813 feel so spectacularly free inside. It felt like the shackles that
|
|
rlm@2
|
814 held down her heart were suddenly released when they were all alone.
|
|
rlm@2
|
815 Hotaru had asked her why she pretended so much in front of people,
|
|
rlm@2
|
816 why she hid her feelings behind a veil of happiness and genki energy.
|
|
rlm@2
|
817 ChibiUsa had tried to explain, but none of her explanations sounded
|
|
rlm@2
|
818 good enough, even to herself. “Because I want people to see the
|
|
rlm@2
|
819 happy, smiling me. I want that to be who they remember. I don’t want
|
|
rlm@2
|
820 to burden others with my problems. I want them to like the genki me
|
|
rlm@2
|
821 that they see,” she had finally settled on.
|
|
rlm@2
|
822 “I like you,” Hotaru had said simply. “I don’t think you should have
|
|
rlm@2
|
823 to pretend for everyone else, ChibiUsa-sama. Even when you’re sad, I
|
|
rlm@2
|
824 like you. Especially when you’re sad. Because then I can really see
|
|
rlm@2
|
825 all of you. I know I can’t help much, but just being next to you,
|
|
rlm@2
|
826 seeing your sad eyes, it makes me wish that I could be with you
|
|
rlm@2
|
827 always.” Her quiet voice had spoken earnestly from her heart. It had
|
|
rlm@2
|
828 shaken the young owner. She had grown up hiding her pain and troubles
|
|
rlm@2
|
829 from others, always being the perky and bubbly girl she had thought
|
|
rlm@2
|
830 they wanted her to be, but the catgirl was content with who she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
831 even when that façade was nowhere in sight.
|
|
rlm@2
|
832 And now ChibiUsa found herself staring deeply into Hotaru’s endless
|
|
rlm@2
|
833 violet orbs, breathing quickly as they sat in the darkness on her
|
|
rlm@2
|
834 ruffled sheets. The catgirl waited with endless patience, looking
|
|
rlm@2
|
835 back at her curiously as ChibiUsa’s mind wandered from memory to
|
|
rlm@2
|
836 memory. Laughing in embarrassment, ChibiUsa placed a hand behind her
|
|
rlm@2
|
837 head. “Goment nasai... I guess I’m still sleepy after all.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
838 Hotaru nodded slowly, still watching her mistress. A small smile
|
|
rlm@2
|
839 crossed her lips. She liked watching the pink bunny-looking girl
|
|
rlm@2
|
840 sleep. “I hope you sleep well, ChibiUsa-sama,” her soft voice prayed.
|
|
rlm@2
|
841 Shaking her head quickly, ChibiUsa tried to collect her thoughts.
|
|
rlm@2
|
842 Not thoughts exactly, because she couldn’t quite understand them all.
|
|
rlm@2
|
843 It was mostly a jumble of feelings, scattered throughout her heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
844 like flotsam. She collected them up, trying to make sense of them.
|
|
rlm@2
|
845 The burning sensation from earlier had only managed to grow more
|
|
rlm@2
|
846 intense as she watched the beautiful catgirl’s ivory skin nearly
|
|
rlm@2
|
847 sparkle in the moonlight. “No, that’s not what I meant. I don’t feel
|
|
rlm@2
|
848 like sleeping right now. Hotaru-chan, I...” She shook her head. Why
|
|
rlm@2
|
849 was this so difficult? What did she want to say? Whatever it was, it
|
|
rlm@2
|
850 certainly shouldn’t be this difficult. Hotaru was her pet. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
851 gone out and picked her out. Hotaru was hers. So why was she having
|
|
rlm@2
|
852 such a hard time forcing out whatever it was that clung to her? A
|
|
rlm@2
|
853 frustrated sigh escaped her lips, causing Hotaru’s ears to twitch
|
|
rlm@2
|
854 noticeably. “Hotaru-chan, I want to kiss you,” she got out in a rough
|
|
rlm@2
|
855 whisper, her cheeks burning up. Was that it? Was that what she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
856 wanted to say? Well, not quite, but it was close enough.
|
|
rlm@2
|
857 The catgirl sat in silence for a long moment, her dark eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
858 concentrating fully on her mistress. Her own pale cheeks had flushed
|
|
rlm@2
|
859 a deep red themselves, though it was hardly evident in the dim light.
|
|
rlm@2
|
860 She nodded slowly, her black hair fluttering a bit as she did so. Of
|
|
rlm@2
|
861 course, ChibiUsa was her owner. She had to do whatever was asked of
|
|
rlm@2
|
862 her, whatever her owner expected of her. But this was so much more
|
|
rlm@2
|
863 than normal obedience. This was something that she knew she wanted
|
|
rlm@2
|
864 herself. That she had wanted for some time now. That her mistress
|
|
rlm@2
|
865 would ask that of her... Her heart swooned at the thought. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
866 mistress was such a kind and loving person, the first person who had
|
|
rlm@2
|
867 ever really cared about her. She treated her more like a friend than
|
|
rlm@2
|
868 an animal. She was so cute and funny to watch. Hotaru was completely
|
|
rlm@2
|
869 enamored with her sweet owner. The thought of being with her in such
|
|
rlm@2
|
870 a way was absolutely delicious. So as her pet, she must comply. But
|
|
rlm@2
|
871 all of Hotaru’s soul was fully behind the action.
|
|
rlm@2
|
872 Leaning forward a little awkwardly, ChibiUsa placed her hands on
|
|
rlm@2
|
873 Hotaru’s bare shoulders. Her heart felt like it was pounding between
|
|
rlm@2
|
874 her ears by now. The fact that she had never kissed anyone before
|
|
rlm@2
|
875 made itself painfully well known in her mind. But she did know that
|
|
rlm@2
|
876 she wanted this to be her first kiss. Licking her dry lips, ChibiUsa
|
|
rlm@2
|
877 moved forward slightly before pausing again. Moving her head to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
878 side, she tried to position herself better. The fact that Hotaru was
|
|
rlm@2
|
879 a girl hardly mattered in her mind and it probably hadn’t even
|
|
rlm@2
|
880 occurred to Hotaru with the blissful look on the angelic girl’s pale
|
|
rlm@2
|
881 face. Hotaru was also her pet, so such trivial things as what gender
|
|
rlm@2
|
882 she was hardly mattered at the moment. Moving forward once more,
|
|
rlm@2
|
883 ChibiUsa felt her lips press inexpertly against those of her devoted
|
|
rlm@2
|
884 catgirl. The soft petals of Hotaru’s lips parted briefly and she once
|
|
rlm@2
|
885 again felt that soft yet scratchy tongue press against her skin, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
886 this time it was on her own lips. The sensation was sweetly
|
|
rlm@2
|
887 overwhelming. ChibiUsa closed her eyes and kissed the dark haired
|
|
rlm@2
|
888 girl again, this time letting her own mouth part when the dark haired
|
|
rlm@2
|
889 girl’s tongue came out. Her lips moved around it, starting Hotaru at
|
|
rlm@2
|
890 first before her own tongue brushed against the scratchy one entering
|
|
rlm@2
|
891 her mouth.
|
|
rlm@2
|
892 ‘She’s your pet. You shouldn’t be doing this,’ ChibiUsa’s mind cried
|
|
rlm@2
|
893 out. ‘She’s your pet so of course you can do this,’ it retaliated.
|
|
rlm@2
|
894 ‘Damn it, she’s Hotaru-chan and I want to do this,’ she concluded at
|
|
rlm@2
|
895 last. Her hand slowly moved up over Hotaru’s bare stomach, caressing
|
|
rlm@2
|
896 the satin soft skin as she made her way upwards. Her heartbeat
|
|
rlm@2
|
897 continued it’s maddening tempo as she continued higher. She was happy
|
|
rlm@2
|
898 to find that Hotaru’s heart was beating just as rapidly, thumping
|
|
rlm@2
|
899 rapidly in the raven haired catgirl’s chest. After what felt like an
|
|
rlm@2
|
900 endless pause as she worked up her determination, ChibiUsa’s hand
|
|
rlm@2
|
901 moved to the right under Hotaru’s simple nightshirt, cupping the
|
|
rlm@2
|
902 delicate skin of one of her small breasts. The catgirl let out a
|
|
rlm@2
|
903 startled cross between a purr and a moan as ChibiUsa’s hand caressed
|
|
rlm@2
|
904 the small mound. Hotaru’s arms wrapped around her mistress, pulling
|
|
rlm@2
|
905 her closer as they continued to kiss. By now, whatever arguments
|
|
rlm@2
|
906 ChibiUsa’s rational mind had tried were completely forgotten, lost in
|
|
rlm@2
|
907 the swirling storm that had overtaken whatever conscious thought was
|
|
rlm@2
|
908 left in her. There were wonderfully soft lips and piercing violet
|
|
rlm@2
|
909 eyes and warm skin that she could feel through the thin fabric of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
910 pajamas. And there was a joyous sense of relief, as if she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
911 finally found what she had spent an eternity searching the world over
|
|
rlm@2
|
912 for. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered, her voice sounding different
|
|
rlm@2
|
913 than she had last remembered. It was her voice, but it wasn’t at all
|
|
rlm@2
|
914 controlled. It was only now that she had completely let go that she
|
|
rlm@2
|
915 could see.
|
|
rlm@2
|
916 Hotaru wasn’t completely aware of what was going on. Her mind had
|
|
rlm@2
|
917 become clouded over as the kiss had overtaken her. She was vaguely
|
|
rlm@2
|
918 aware of ChibiUsa’s hand in her blouse, of her fingers against her
|
|
rlm@2
|
919 skin. That sent a blush all the way down to her shoulders. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
920 thought that she was completely at her mistress’s mercy sent a shiver
|
|
rlm@2
|
921 through her ivory body. She didn’t know if she had quite expected
|
|
rlm@2
|
922 this or not. She knew that she belonged to the pink haired girl, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
923 this hadn’t really crossed her mind. She would do anything for her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
924 and she was only all too willing to follow along with her mistress’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
925 wishes.
|
|
rlm@2
|
926 Slowly pulling away, ChibiUsa tried desperately to catch her breath.
|
|
rlm@2
|
927 She felt dizzy, her mind swirling in ecstasy as she sat back. Her pet
|
|
rlm@2
|
928 slowly opened her eyes, watching her closely. Swallowing, ChibiUsa’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
929 tongue moved around in her mouth, still used to the other’s presence
|
|
rlm@2
|
930 from moments before. This certainly hadn’t been one of the reasons
|
|
rlm@2
|
931 she had wanted a pet in the first place, but it was certainly a
|
|
rlm@2
|
932 wonderful surprise at the moment. The teenage girl was extremely
|
|
rlm@2
|
933 happy to have the closeness that her pet was all too willing to
|
|
rlm@2
|
934 provide her with. But just as she was an inexperienced kisser, so too
|
|
rlm@2
|
935 was she lost in exactly how to go about initiating anything sexual
|
|
rlm@2
|
936 between the two of them. The catgirl sat still, completely docile.
|
|
rlm@2
|
937 ChibiUsa sighed, her mind racing. Her mind finally settled on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
938 kiss. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to take off your clothes,” she said
|
|
rlm@2
|
939 quickly, trying to keep herself from blushing a deeper shade of
|
|
rlm@2
|
940 crimson than she already was. The dark haired catgirl complied shyly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
941 looking away from her mistress as she pulled the simple nightshirt
|
|
rlm@2
|
942 off, sliding off the plain white panties a moment later. The pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
943 haired owner watched all of this intently, taking in all of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
944 feline companion in the dim moonlight that sparkled over her body.
|
|
rlm@2
|
945 Reaching forward, ChibiUsa pulled the panties off of Hotaru’s foot,
|
|
rlm@2
|
946 pulling at them slightly as she held them up. They had an
|
|
rlm@2
|
947 intoxicating smell, and the knowledge of where they had just been
|
|
rlm@2
|
948 only served to entice her even more.
|
|
rlm@2
|
949 Hotaru sat on her knees in front of her mistress, watching shyly as
|
|
rlm@2
|
950 she waited for whatever was to come next. This had certainly come as
|
|
rlm@2
|
951 a surprise to her, but not as much as it could have been. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
952 known from the start that her mistress was completely in charge in
|
|
rlm@2
|
953 whatever she decided to do. Hotaru was only her pet. She was to go
|
|
rlm@2
|
954 along with whatever she wished. So she waited, nude in front of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
955 mistress, her body barred for her. Her tail moved quickly, betraying
|
|
rlm@2
|
956 the excitement that was building within her. Her animal instincts
|
|
rlm@2
|
957 wanted to come into play and they were very difficult to suppress at
|
|
rlm@2
|
958 the moment. She had the sudden urge to pounce the pink haired girl,
|
|
rlm@2
|
959 but through force of will she managed to push the thought deep down.
|
|
rlm@2
|
960 If this had all been a dream, ChibiUsa would not have been at all
|
|
rlm@2
|
961 surprised. What did come as a surprise was the fact that she wasn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
962 waking up from all of this. Part of her was expecting it all to come
|
|
rlm@2
|
963 to a close at any second. It had already gone much further than any
|
|
rlm@2
|
964 of her other dreams had dared. She had finally received that
|
|
rlm@2
|
965 intoxicating first kiss. Yet it was moving far beyond a simple kiss.
|
|
rlm@2
|
966 Hotaru was simply stunning in the moonlight, her gorgeous body on
|
|
rlm@2
|
967 display for ChibiUsa alone. Her fingers reached out slowly, brushing
|
|
rlm@2
|
968 some of the catgirl’s dark hair away from her violet eyes. “Hotaru-
|
|
rlm@2
|
969 chan... You’re so beautiful. Every inch of you,” she stated as her
|
|
rlm@2
|
970 fingers trailed down Hotaru’s bare shoulder. The catgirl shivered at
|
|
rlm@2
|
971 her touch, causing ChibiUsa to pull her hand away. Hotaru looked up
|
|
rlm@2
|
972 suddenly, disappointment evident in her eyes.
|
|
rlm@2
|
973 ChibiUsa held her hands in her lap, blushing deeper than she was
|
|
rlm@2
|
974 sure she ever had before. Her pink hair hung past her shoulders,
|
|
rlm@2
|
975 still messy from hours of sleep. The burning inside of her was now
|
|
rlm@2
|
976 almost unbearable. She swallowed nervously as she tried to think. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
977 mind kept going to vivid images. Again, the feeling of Hotaru’s skin
|
|
rlm@2
|
978 against her, the feel of her warm and slightly scratchy tongue
|
|
rlm@2
|
979 entered her mind. “Hotaru-chan, I want you to... Umm…” Not being a
|
|
rlm@2
|
980 particularly vulgar girl or even an overly sexual one, ChibiUsa was
|
|
rlm@2
|
981 having a very difficult time describing what she meant to the catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
982 in front of her. “I want you to lick me again...” she finished at
|
|
rlm@2
|
983 last. She was about certain that she would pass out from blood loss
|
|
rlm@2
|
984 around then. If her mother ever heard her say anything like that...
|
|
rlm@2
|
985 She shook her head quickly, banishing the thought of her parents
|
|
rlm@2
|
986 having any idea of what she was currently engaged in. The catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
987 moved forward, her tongue brushing ChibiUsa’s cheek once more. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
988 pink hair giggled a bit at that, but the giggle was shortlived as
|
|
rlm@2
|
989 another blush overtook her. “No, I meant I want you to lick me
|
|
rlm@2
|
990 somewhere else, Hotaru-chan,” she said softly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
991 Seeing the curious look that the catgirl gave her, ChibiUsa reached
|
|
rlm@2
|
992 down and pulled her pajama bottoms off. The cool air hit her bare
|
|
rlm@2
|
993 skin instantly, but it did little to quell the firey sensation within
|
|
rlm@2
|
994 her. Despite having watched Hotaru undress mere moments earlier,
|
|
rlm@2
|
995 ChibiUsa was still embarrassed about being seen in only her pajama
|
|
rlm@2
|
996 top and panties, even if she had undressed in front of her pet
|
|
rlm@2
|
997 countless times. It took her a moment before she could work up the
|
|
rlm@2
|
998 courage to pull her bunny stylized panties down her legs, leaving her
|
|
rlm@2
|
999 bare skin to the scrutiny of the dark haired catgirl. She sat there
|
|
rlm@2
|
1000 for a long moment, her bare skin against the ruffled sheets that she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1001 had been sitting on. Her legs parted slowly, her eyes never leaving
|
|
rlm@2
|
1002 the catgirl sitting quietly in front of her. She swallowed nervously,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1003 part of her wondering just what the hell she was doing. Disregarding
|
|
rlm@2
|
1004 whatever part of her was protesting, ChibiUsa reached down past the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1005 soft pink hair that marked only a small patch of the bare skin from
|
|
rlm@2
|
1006 her waist down. Her crimson eyes remained on Hotaru as her fingers
|
|
rlm@2
|
1007 held herself open, her blush intensifying as she saw Hotaru’s violet
|
|
rlm@2
|
1008 eyes looking between her legs. Her first instinct was to close her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1009 legs tightly, to grab for the pajama bottoms that she knew were
|
|
rlm@2
|
1010 hopelessly out of her grasp. But she saw the Hotaru now understood
|
|
rlm@2
|
1011 what she meant. The nude catgirl moved forward on all fours, quickly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1012 moving between ChibiUsa’s spread legs. The pink haired girl’s heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
1013 crashed thunderously in her chest as she waited. She could see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1014 Hotaru’s midnight black hair and her equally dark ears followed by
|
|
rlm@2
|
1015 her beautiful ivory back that led all the way down to her dark tail
|
|
rlm@2
|
1016 that swished rapidly back and forth over Hotaru’s flank. That was the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1017 last thing she saw before she felt Hotaru’s hot breath on her, the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1018 catgirl having finally reached her destination. The pink haired girl
|
|
rlm@2
|
1019 rested her head back on her pillow, staring up at the roof as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1020 felt Hotaru’s nose brush past her small patch of pink hair.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1021 Hotaru was now running mostly on instinct, glad to let her animal
|
|
rlm@2
|
1022 side take charge of herself for the time being. Her nose pushed into
|
|
rlm@2
|
1023 her mistress’s soft pink hair, brushing the soft skin underneath. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1024 ears perked up at the soft moan that elicited from her owner. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1025 tail continued to dart back and forth as she leaned forward again,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1026 her nose trailing downward across the hot skin. She was entirely
|
|
rlm@2
|
1027 focussed on ChibiUsa, entranced by the situation she found herself
|
|
rlm@2
|
1028 in. Her rough tongue began to trail along ChibiUsa’s soft petals the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1029 same way she had trailed along her cheek not too long ago. She slowly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1030 began to lick at the sweet skin, garnering more moans and movement
|
|
rlm@2
|
1031 from the pink haired girl. She was so happy to be able to cause such
|
|
rlm@2
|
1032 sounds from her mistress. She continued licking, her tongue moving
|
|
rlm@2
|
1033 over ChibiUsa’s fingers as well as what lay between them. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1034 wrinkled her nose at the strange taste that replaced the salty taste
|
|
rlm@2
|
1035 of ChibiUsa’s skin further up. After a moment, she began licking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1036 further between her mistress’s fingers, enjoying the interesting new
|
|
rlm@2
|
1037 taste. Her ears followed every moan, every sound that came from the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1038 pink haired girl. ChibiUsa continued to shift along the bed,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1039 squirming as Hotaru’s tongue continued along its path. Hotaru’s hands
|
|
rlm@2
|
1040 rested on ChibiUsa’s warm thighs so she wouldn’t have to move around
|
|
rlm@2
|
1041 as much to compensate for ChibiUsa’s movements.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1042 Breathing heavily, ChibiUsa’s fingers of her free hand buried into
|
|
rlm@2
|
1043 Hotaru’s soft dark hair, narrowly missing one of her ears. “Hotaru-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1044 chan!” she whimpered, her scarlet eyes closing tightly as she felt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1045 Hotaru’s warm tongue against her most sacred of treasures. Hotaru’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1046 tongue continued to caress her, the catgirl eagerly sending the pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
1047 haired girl into the heights of some distant heaven. “Hotaru-chan...”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1048 Her toes curled up in the sheets underneath her, her bare skin still
|
|
rlm@2
|
1049 meeting Hotaru’s warm tongue. ChibiUsa moaned louder as the catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
1050 found her pearl, her tongue sending sparks through her entire body.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1051 Hotaru licked at it more intently at the sound of her moans, barring
|
|
rlm@2
|
1052 her sharp teeth against it. ChibiUsa’s hands gripped onto the sheets
|
|
rlm@2
|
1053 as she moaned one last time, her muscles tensing up as her whole body
|
|
rlm@2
|
1054 felt like it was on fire. She collapsed to the sheets a short time
|
|
rlm@2
|
1055 later, breathing heavily and even more disheveled than when she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1056 first awakened. Hotaru crawled up next to her, still naked, and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1057 curled against her side. ChibiUsa smiled softly as she wrapped her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1058 arms around the catgirl. “Hotaru-chan...” she whispered softly,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1059 kissing her pet with what little strength she still had. Hotaru
|
|
rlm@2
|
1060 smiled back, watching her intently. ChibiUsa fell asleep to those
|
|
rlm@2
|
1061 endless violet eyes and Hotaru’s warm purr.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1062
|
|
rlm@2
|
1063 ChibiUsa felt herself unable to concentrate at all during class
|
|
rlm@2
|
1064 several days later. Her head lay against her cold desk as she school
|
|
rlm@2
|
1065 day continued to drag on like molasses pouring slowly from a jar. Her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1066 mind was a jumble of thoughts, all struggling for dominance in her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1067 confused mind. The flurry of conflicting information was too much for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1068 her, but she didn’t no how to deal with it all. She had lost interest
|
|
rlm@2
|
1069 in Elios a short time ago, her crush disappearing as quickly as it
|
|
rlm@2
|
1070 had appeared. She blamed it at first on the fickleness of such
|
|
rlm@2
|
1071 things, but that didn’t exactly fit. Crushes had come and gone
|
|
rlm@2
|
1072 before, but usually not with such sudden surety. Maybe she was just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1073 becoming more mature, realizing when her feelings were merely the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1074 product of an overactive teenage mind. Which was true in some way,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1075 she now saw. Elios had been a nice guy and all, but not someone that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1076 she could spend an eternity with.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1077 Which brought her to her next group of thoughts. Who did she want to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1078 spend eternity with? That question produced a rather clear image, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1079 she quickly dismissed it, trying to keep her fear from overcoming her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1080 panicked heart. ChibiUsa hadn’t ever had any interest in girls in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1081 first place, and this was infinitely more confusing than finding out
|
|
rlm@2
|
1082 she was in love with one of the female members of the species. They
|
|
rlm@2
|
1083 weren’t even of the same species. ‘How do you fall in love with your
|
|
rlm@2
|
1084 pet cat?’ her mind asked for what had to be the thousandth time. And
|
|
rlm@2
|
1085 once again she came up blank.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1086 Her mind had been consumed with thoughts of the pale catgirl as of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1087 late, drowning her in their intensity. She had tried to quell the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1088 rising feelings at first, but they quickly became too much for her to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1089 hold back. They bubbled up around the barriers she had set in place,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1090 knocking them down as if they had never been there at all. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
1091 growing warmth in her heart showed through in everything she did,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1092 pouring forth whenever she was with her pet. What had at first
|
|
rlm@2
|
1093 frightened her now merely confused her. She was trying to understand
|
|
rlm@2
|
1094 just what had happened, where the distinction had been made. When had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1095 friendship, the relationship between the pet and her mistress, turned
|
|
rlm@2
|
1096 to love? And what did she say to Hotaru about it? This would have
|
|
rlm@2
|
1097 been easier if she was younger. In her childlike innocence, she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1098 quickly come to decisions regarding matters of the heart, moving on a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1099 pure and simple instinct that had always served her well. That same
|
|
rlm@2
|
1100 instinct that bothered her whenever Hotaru would call her mistress.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1101 She wasn’t just a pet. That’s what this all boiled down to. Hotaru
|
|
rlm@2
|
1102 was far more than some simple object of amusement. She was ChibiUsa’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1103 best friend, something that she would have to be careful not to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1104 mention around the possessive Ruruna and Naruru. And it wasn’t the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1105 same as with Momoko. They could talk and she liked spending time with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1106 the peach girl, but it was nowhere near as captivating as the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1107 catgirl’s presence.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1108 ChibiUsa tried to cloak her true feelings behind a happy façade
|
|
rlm@2
|
1109 that dazzled most people. Hiding her feelings had always been second
|
|
rlm@2
|
1110 nature. Her father was an important politician. She couldn’t be going
|
|
rlm@2
|
1111 around like an open book. But often her heart would push off the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1112 boundaries and restrictions she laid on it, pulling her in all sorts
|
|
rlm@2
|
1113 of different directions. This had always been frustrating for her,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1114 this contradictory force pulling her in two directions at once. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
1115 sometimes left her feeling empty inside, struggling with the feelings
|
|
rlm@2
|
1116 in her heart and the painting she tried to portray to the world. Did
|
|
rlm@2
|
1117 any of her friends really know her at all? Hotaru did. Those sad eyes
|
|
rlm@2
|
1118 saw deep inside of her, as if she could see directly into ChibiUsa’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1119 soul. The pink haired girl shuddered at the thought, remembering the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1120 feeling of those endless violet orbs on her, asking why she lied so
|
|
rlm@2
|
1121 much about how she felt.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1122 It was with this dual nature that ChibiUsa found herself struggling
|
|
rlm@2
|
1123 once again. The fact that Hotaru was her pet was becoming less and
|
|
rlm@2
|
1124 less important. It seemed silly to use that as an excuse. That she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1125 meant so much to her immediately nullified the little problem of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1126 Hotaru being a catgirl. Her heart was beginning to shred through the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1127 curtains that had hidden it, and it was difficult for her to maintain
|
|
rlm@2
|
1128 any semblance of a mask in Hotaru’s presence. Instinct and rational
|
|
rlm@2
|
1129 thought grappled in the recesses of her mind, struggling between
|
|
rlm@2
|
1130 suppressing her feelings and following her heart. As was so often the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1131 case, ChibiUsa’s instincts eventually came out on top.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1132 Pink hair bobbed as ChibiUsa heard the bell ring. Finally! Grabbing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1133 her bunny bookbag, she hurried out of class. She had things she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1134 needed to do. She left her confusion at her desk, determined to see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1135 where the path in her heart led.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1136
|
|
rlm@2
|
1137 Papers surrounded Hotaru’s barely clad form as she sat on the floor
|
|
rlm@2
|
1138 in ChibiUsa’s father’s room. She wasn’t supposed to be in there, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1139 she had grown curious. And, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1140 cat. Hotaru had finally found it almost impossible to ignore the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1141 dark, almost imposing room that she had normally avoided. She had to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1142 find the answers. And there they were, in black and white in front of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1143 her.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1144 It had started simply enough. That pleasant scent that signified
|
|
rlm@2
|
1145 her mistress always had a strong affect on her. All of her senses
|
|
rlm@2
|
1146 would come alert when it reached her nose, catlike instinct going
|
|
rlm@2
|
1147 crazy. It worked well with the rest of the pink haired girl’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1148 presence to drive her completely crazy. It was something she enjoyed,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1149 but a small thought had begun to nag at the back of her mind. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1150 knew that smell and that reaction from somewhere else. Well, not that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1151 exact smell and not that exact reaction. There was something in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1152 specific about ChibiUsa that got her heart pounding. But that tensing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1153 of her muscles and that almost maddening thought to pounce on the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1154 pink haired girl seemed familiar. She had finally come searching for
|
|
rlm@2
|
1155 answers.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1156 The strange feelings weren’t the only reason she had gone looking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1157 for proof to her suspicions. She had to ashamedly admit that she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1158 a more selfish reason. She was in love with her mistress. She knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
1159 that now. Denial had set in stubbornly at first. Hotaru’s broken
|
|
rlm@2
|
1160 heart had not wanted to allow herself to get hurt again after all of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1161 the pain her life had afforded her. It had tried to escape that by
|
|
rlm@2
|
1162 denying the feelings in her heart. ChibiUsa was her mistress, so of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1163 course she was the most important thing to her. She was supposed to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1164 feel strongly about her mistress. But that wasn’t the full truth.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1165 Watching the pink haired girl while she slept, waiting anxiously
|
|
rlm@2
|
1166 everyday for her to return home, wanting nothing more than to be with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1167 her constantly, it all burned too brightly in her heart. Nothing she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1168 had read could have prepared her for the tumultuous feelings that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1169 sent her heart reeling. It wasn’t a happy realization by any means.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1170 When she had discovered that she was in love with her mistress, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1171 had cried for many hours until her tears had finally given up on her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1172 completely. Pain had wracked her lonely heart because she knew she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1173 could never be with her mistress. They could never be together. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1174 would always be alone, watching her mistress from afar. She was only
|
|
rlm@2
|
1175 her pet, after all. She was nothing more than her plaything. This was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1176 her last hope, that perhaps she could prove that they could be
|
|
rlm@2
|
1177 together, that she could be with her mistress always. Of course, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1178 wouldn’t be her mistress anymore if she was right, would she?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1179 The answer she had been searching for lay written on the paper in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1180 front of her, painfully obvious yet carefully hidden. ChibiUsa was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1181 not the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino. She was, in fact, not human
|
|
rlm@2
|
1182 at all. She was a pet as well. Or at least, she had been. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
1183 Tsukino’s had been devastated when their first daughter had died
|
|
rlm@2
|
1184 during childbirth. Mrs. Tsukino couldn’t have any other children. The
|
|
rlm@2
|
1185 couple so wanted a child, but they couldn’t have one of their own. So
|
|
rlm@2
|
1186 they had purchased a very young pet, a pink haired bunnygirl. They
|
|
rlm@2
|
1187 had her tail and ears surgically removed while she was still a baby
|
|
rlm@2
|
1188 and had raised her as their own child.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1189 The truth hadn’t been entirely surprising to Hotaru, though she had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1190 wondered if she was hoping for the impossible. If ChibiUsa was a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1191 bunnygirl, then it meant that they could be together. It meant that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1192 if ChibiUsa did return her feelings as she suspected, it would be all
|
|
rlm@2
|
1193 right for them to be in love. There wouldn’t be any social stigmas to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1194 worry about if two pets were in love. She wasn’t just in love with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1195 ChibiUsa because she was her mistress. Their love wasn’t forbidden.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1196 This filled Hotaru with a profound sense of relief. The familiar
|
|
rlm@2
|
1197 feeling finally had a memory attached to it. She had first seen a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1198 bunnygirl back in a petshop. She had hissed at the girl and tried to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1199 pounce on her, but she hadn’t been able to get out of her cage. So
|
|
rlm@2
|
1200 part of ChibiUsa’s scent had alerted that catlike part of her mind to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1201 the bunny aspect of her mistress. Her bare toes curled happily in the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1202 carpet as she purred. Yes, she couldn’t wait to see ChibiUsa. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1203 would tell her everything and they would be together forever. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1204 hoped. Part of her was worried about the pink haired girl’s reaction
|
|
rlm@2
|
1205 to it. What would she think? Would her heritage frighten her?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1206 The front door opened, alerting Hotaru to the return of her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1207 mistress. Her heart pounded deafeningly in her chest as she held the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1208 paper to her chest. She still wasn’t sure what to do. But she knew
|
|
rlm@2
|
1209 she wanted to be with her mistress above all else. A strange scent
|
|
rlm@2
|
1210 startled her out of her thoughts as the steps grew closer. That
|
|
rlm@2
|
1211 didn’t smell like ChibiUsa. Her violet eyes shot towards the door as
|
|
rlm@2
|
1212 ChibiUsa’s father entered the room. Her heart practically stopped.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1213 “What the hell are you doing?” he asked in shock as he surveyed the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1214 room. His daughter’s pet catgirl was sitting in the middle of some of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1215 his most important papers, holding one tightly to a chest. Noticing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1216 ChibiUsa’s fake birth certificate lying next to her bare leg, he felt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1217 panic easing it’s way out from his stomach. He had gotten home early
|
|
rlm@2
|
1218 and had decided to hurry home and get some rest after the recent late
|
|
rlm@2
|
1219 nights he had been pulling. But he certainly hadn’t expected to see
|
|
rlm@2
|
1220 this. ‘Calm down,’ he commanded himself. ‘Be rational. She’s only a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1221 catgirl. She can’t read. She doesn’t know what any of it is. Just
|
|
rlm@2
|
1222 scold her and hide those papers somewhere else.’
|
|
rlm@2
|
1223 Hotaru stared up at the graying politician with concern in her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1224 violet eyes. She held the paper even tighter as he came forward.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1225 Steeling her courage, the shy catgirl met his eyes. “She’s a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1226 bunnygirl, isn’t she?” her soft voice whispered. His forward advance
|
|
rlm@2
|
1227 stopped immediately. “She was a pet, wasn’t she?”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1228 “Oh my God...” Panic began to pump quicker through his body as he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1229 stared at the catgirl, her deep violet eyes meeting his in curiosity.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1230 He idly wondered if he was about to have a heart attack as his heart
|
|
rlm@2
|
1231 beat furiously in his chest. “You can read..” This couldn’t happen.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1232 Some damned catgirl couldn’t have found out his daughter’s dark,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1233 dirty little secret. He would not let his entire career, his entire
|
|
rlm@2
|
1234 reputation, his happy family get torn apart by some loathsome animal.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1235 He could lose everything if this got out. His career would be hurt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1236 beyond repair if it got out that his daughter was a bunnygirl.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1237 Nodding slowly, Hotaru looked down at the paper in her arms. “You
|
|
rlm@2
|
1238 never told her. You hid it from her so she wouldn’t know. And you let
|
|
rlm@2
|
1239 her get a pet of her own. It’s almost ironic. A pet owning a pet.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1240 She smiled weakly, showing her fangs. To ChibiUsa’s father, she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1241 looked like some hellish demon. “I understand. You just wanted to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1242 protect her. But I have to tell her. She has to know who she is.”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1243 “Who.. Who the fuck are you to decide something like that..? You’re
|
|
rlm@2
|
1244 just some damned pet... I’m her fucking father.. You have no right
|
|
rlm@2
|
1245 telling her that.” His hands were shaking now, an irrational rage
|
|
rlm@2
|
1246 building inside. How dare this cat come in and try to ruin his life?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1247 How dare she exert power over him? She was only a pet.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1248 Hotaru shook her head quickly, dark hair flying just above her bare
|
|
rlm@2
|
1249 shoulders. “No, you don’t understand...” her quiet voice was barely
|
|
rlm@2
|
1250 above a whisper. “I... I have to tell her.. She needs to know...
|
|
rlm@2
|
1251 Because.. Because I love her. So she has to know that she’s a pet,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1252 too..” Her violet eyes grew more focused as she stood up. She felt a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1253 cold determination growing within her. She would be with the one she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1254 loved. She would give her whole heart to ChibiUsa. But the only way
|
|
rlm@2
|
1255 they could be together was if she told her who she really was. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1256 the only way that her mistress could love her back, if she knew that
|
|
rlm@2
|
1257 she was a pet.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1258 Blinding pain erupted through Hotaru as an insanely loud noise
|
|
rlm@2
|
1259 filled her ears. An acrid smell filled her nostrils as she fell
|
|
rlm@2
|
1260 backwards. Her eyes barely caught a glimpse of the gleaming metal
|
|
rlm@2
|
1261 object in the man’s hands as she collapsed like a rag doll to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1262 floor. She felt as if the air had all been forced out of her in a
|
|
rlm@2
|
1263 split second. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t catch her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1264 breath as she lay panting on the floor, gasping fruitlessly. A
|
|
rlm@2
|
1265 coppery taste invaded her mind as she began to cough uncontrollably.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1266 Tears spilt down her cheeks as she kept trying to catch her breath.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1267 What was happening? Why did her lungs burn so badly? She could dimly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1268 hear him over her, angry words laced with venom assaulting her as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1269 lay helplessly on the floor. Her hand weakly grabbed at her chest
|
|
rlm@2
|
1270 only to find her simple blouse soaked with blood. It continued to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1271 poor out onto her shaking hand as her heart pumped desperately. He
|
|
rlm@2
|
1272 had shot her through the lung and she was rapidly bleeding to death.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1273 “ChibiUsa-sama...” her voice got out before breaking. Fire burnt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1274 through her side as she felt his foot kick her in the ribs.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1275 “You fucking bitch!! Do you think she’s going to save you? Do you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1276 think that I’d let you ruin my life?! My career?! That I’d let you
|
|
rlm@2
|
1277 come in and take my baby girl away from me?!” He ran a hand through
|
|
rlm@2
|
1278 his graying hair as he tried to catch his breath. She couldn’t hurt
|
|
rlm@2
|
1279 him anymore. The vicious demon lay dying on his bedroom floor. All he
|
|
rlm@2
|
1280 would have to do now would be to get rid of her and this whole
|
|
rlm@2
|
1281 painful episode would be over with. If ChibiUsa missed her pet cat,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1282 he would just go buy her a new one. Preferably a deaf and mute one
|
|
rlm@2
|
1283 this time. He heard the catgirl whimper his daughter’s name again on
|
|
rlm@2
|
1284 the floor and drove his foot into her stomach, shutting her up.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1285 Hotaru couldn’t see anymore, her vision finally fading out as she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1286 lay on the floor. Her body still ached horribly, but it was becoming
|
|
rlm@2
|
1287 distant, as if it were someone else’s pain. The room was gone, left
|
|
rlm@2
|
1288 far behind. Her body was slowly starting to slip away as she came to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1289 the dim realization that she was dying. Her heart cried out in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1290 anguish as she found that ChibiUsa could not come to her rescue. No!
|
|
rlm@2
|
1291 She didn’t want to die yet. She had wanted to die many other times in
|
|
rlm@2
|
1292 her life, praying to be with her mother again, but she had a reason
|
|
rlm@2
|
1293 to live this time. In her mind’s eye, she saw the pink haired girl,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1294 smiling serenely, her arms behind her back. She had to live. She had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1295 to see ChibiUsa again. Struggling to her knees, she coughed up more
|
|
rlm@2
|
1296 blood onto the already soiled carpet. Yes, she would be with her
|
|
rlm@2
|
1297 mistress. Forever. Despite the pain, she thought she might be able to
|
|
rlm@2
|
1298 make it to her feet after all. This man would not stand in the way of
|
|
rlm@2
|
1299 her heart. “Chi...” she got out weakly before another gunshot rang
|
|
rlm@2
|
1300 out. Hotaru’s lifeless body fell in a heap on the floor.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1301 “Oh God!! Please no...” The politician turned at the sound of his
|
|
rlm@2
|
1302 daughter’s voice. The gun fell from cold fingers, clattering to the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1303 floor near the catgirl’s dead body. He reached out slowly, shaking
|
|
rlm@2
|
1304 his head. He realized dimly that his fingers were shaking. “ChibiUsa-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1305 chan, I... I had to... She was... She was going to destroy you, my
|
|
rlm@2
|
1306 little girl...” his words came out shakily as he watched his daughter
|
|
rlm@2
|
1307 hurry to Hotaru’s side.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1308 “Hotaru-chan!!! Hotaru-chan!!” ChibiUsa cried out helplessly. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1309 clutched onto the catgirl’s still warm body, holding it tightly
|
|
rlm@2
|
1310 against herself, praying that she would move in her grasp. “Please...
|
|
rlm@2
|
1311 Please say something.. Please do something... Anything!! Hotaru-
|
|
rlm@2
|
1312 chan!!! No!! Don’t leave me like this!!! Say something!!!” she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1313 demanded, shaking the girl in her arms. Hotaru lay limply against
|
|
rlm@2
|
1314 her, unmoving. ChibiUsa burst out into fresh tears, sobbing
|
|
rlm@2
|
1315 uncontrollably. “You can’t leave me... I.. I love you... I love you,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1316 Hotaru-chan.. I said it.. You mean everything to me... So open your
|
|
rlm@2
|
1317 eyes.. Oh please, just open your eyes.. I mean it.. I mean it with
|
|
rlm@2
|
1318 all my heart.. I love you...” Her fingers clutched desperately onto
|
|
rlm@2
|
1319 the pale girl’s skin as her body shook with each breath the pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
1320 haired girl managed between sobs. Her skirt and blouse were now
|
|
rlm@2
|
1321 soaked with blood, a stark contrast with how neat and clean they were
|
|
rlm@2
|
1322 mere moments before. The flowers she had bought Hotaru lay near the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1323 doorway, forgotten instantly as she had seen her fallen love. What
|
|
rlm@2
|
1324 had happened? What had gone so horrendously wrong? She had finally
|
|
rlm@2
|
1325 given in to the inevitable pull of her heart only to find the girl
|
|
rlm@2
|
1326 that lay at the center of her heart dead in her father’s bedroom. Why
|
|
rlm@2
|
1327 was this world so cruel? Why would it take such a gentle, shy spirit
|
|
rlm@2
|
1328 away?
|
|
rlm@2
|
1329 Bitter tears fell down ChibiUsa’s cheeks, dripping onto Hotaru’s
|
|
rlm@2
|
1330 pale cheeks as ChibiUsa cupped her chin, looking into her lifeless
|
|
rlm@2
|
1331 violet eyes. “Hotaru-chan..” Her father was mumbling something, but
|
|
rlm@2
|
1332 she couldn’t hear him. Her thoughts were too dashed to concentrate on
|
|
rlm@2
|
1333 anything but the broken girl in front of her. “Hotaru-chan..?” she
|
|
rlm@2
|
1334 asked again, her pink lashes throwing tears as she blinked them
|
|
rlm@2
|
1335 furiously in an attempt to see through the burning veil they formed.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1336 Her lover looked back at her blankly, vacantly. She wasn’t there
|
|
rlm@2
|
1337 anymore. The spark inside of her that had been ChibiUsa’s pet catgirl
|
|
rlm@2
|
1338 was gone, already having fled to somewhere far away. “I love you..”
|
|
rlm@2
|
1339 ChibiUsa whispered as she began to cry hopelessly, hugging Hotaru
|
|
rlm@2
|
1340 with all of her strength.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1341 “She was going to take you away from me, ChibiUsa-chan.. I had no
|
|
rlm@2
|
1342 choice. I couldn’t let her take you away.. I couldn’t let her ruin
|
|
rlm@2
|
1343 everything for us.. I’ll buy you a new catgirl.. I’ll let you get any
|
|
rlm@2
|
1344 pet that you want.. All right, honey? You can get whatever you want..
|
|
rlm@2
|
1345 She was just a pet anyway.. No big loss..” He turned to his daughter,
|
|
rlm@2
|
1346 trying to concentrate. He hadn’t expected her to get home. He was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1347 just going to tell her that Hotaru had run away, that she had simply
|
|
rlm@2
|
1348 left when he had accidentally left the door open. But this made
|
|
rlm@2
|
1349 things infinitely more complicated. His eyes caught on something
|
|
rlm@2
|
1350 shiny as ChibiUsa reached out and wrapped her fingers around it. It
|
|
rlm@2
|
1351 took a moment for it to click in his mind, the gun clicking back at
|
|
rlm@2
|
1352 the same moment. “No..” he whispered breathlessly.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1353 The cold metal of the barrel pushed painfully past cotton candy pink
|
|
rlm@2
|
1354 hair as ChibiUsa felt it bite into her skin. Her tears still fell
|
|
rlm@2
|
1355 silently down her cheeks, but she wasn’t shaking anymore. She shifted
|
|
rlm@2
|
1356 her other arm, holding Hotaru warmly against her. This was it. It was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1357 over. She couldn’t live without Hotaru. That was part of what had
|
|
rlm@2
|
1358 made her realize that she loved the catgirl. Her life was incomplete
|
|
rlm@2
|
1359 without her. So she wouldn’t continue down life’s path alone. She
|
|
rlm@2
|
1360 couldn’t. Even if her body lived, she was already dead. This life was
|
|
rlm@2
|
1361 over. She felt the trigger tense under her finger as she pulled it.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1362 It kicked in her hand and fell to the floor as she slumped against
|
|
rlm@2
|
1363 Hotaru. She actually thought she heard the gunshot, but that couldn’t
|
|
rlm@2
|
1364 possibly be true. She died the second she pulled the trigger.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1365 Everything faded to black as she saw the roses lying discarded by the
|
|
rlm@2
|
1366 door, her lifeless body leaning against Hotaru’s.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1367 Hotaru’s smiling face and vibrant violet eyes greeted ChibiUsa as
|
|
rlm@2
|
1368 gun smoke filled the air and two girls lay dead and entangled
|
|
rlm@2
|
1369 together in a lover’s embrace back in a room far away.
|
|
rlm@2
|
1370
|
|
rlm@2
|
1371 |
